


Friends on the Other Side

by MisticRays



Series: Friends on the Other Side [1]
Category: Beetlejuice (1988), Beetlejuice (TV 1989)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-03-08 20:55:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18902494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisticRays/pseuds/MisticRays
Summary: Cassidy Montgomery is cursed. Or, she thinks she is. Ever since she could remember, she could see ghosts. It terrified her to no end and now, with the death of her parents, she has so many questions that can't get answered. At least...she doesn't think so, until she summons a certain Ghost With The Most.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> IF YOU ARE READING THIS ON ANY OTHER WEBSITE OR APP THAT IS NOT A03 (EXAMPLE: FANFIC POCKET ARCHIVE LIBRARY UNOFFICIAL) I DID NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR MY WORKS TO BE REPOSTED. I DO NOT CONSENT TO THIS. PLEASE REPORT THIS APP AND READ MY WORKS ONLY ON A03. I REPEAT, NO CONSENT WAS GIVEN.
> 
>  
> 
> So this kind of came to me when I thought to myself "What would happen if, a few years after the events of Beetlejuice, someone else summoned him?" So I put thoughts into action. This first chapter is a Prologue of sorts.

It wasn’t easy, growing up the way I did. The earliest memory I had was of _them_. The people who walk in the shadows. The ghosts. I’ve always had the Sight. Probably since the day I was born. I didn’t know if it was a curse or just a family trait but I never wanted it. I could see things no one else could. People being followed by dead loved ones; the wailing of the ghosts as they tried to get the attention of the living. 

 

Nobody believed me though. Why should they? I was a little girl at the time, making up silly stories to amuse myself. Until I got older and they realized these stories weren’t going away. My parents started to fear me, my friends all left me and the doctors were dumbfounded. Scans showed a healthy girl of thirteen. So, what else was there to do but chalk it up to insanity? Throw the kid into therapy and see what happens. Try these medications, they’re sure to work. My parents did everything. Nothing stopped it.

 

I wasn’t allowed outside the house at that point. Homeschooling became my norm. It wasn’t until I was seventeen, a month away from eighteen, that the accident happened. I was home alone, my parents had gone to a social function for my dad’s work. I guess they both had too much to drink. It would explain why dad suddenly just veered off the road. The police tried to comfort me, saying that they died instantly and with no pain. I didn’t believe them. That night I waited in the living room for them to suddenly appear. They never did. Maybe the moved on. Maybe they were stuck in purgatory. I wasn’t one for God but...something must have kept them from coming back home.

 

Since I wasn’t an adult yet, I was given one option. Have my aunt move into the house and take care of me. Mom and Dad had a lot of money put away and all of it went to me so I could want for nothing. I wasn’t allowed to touch it until I turned eighteen though. My aunt had a steady job that would save the house. But...

 

I will admit, my relationship with my parents was strained. I was the weirdo kid they were stuck with and they were the unapproachable parents I had to make deal with. Growing up the way I did wasn’t easy. But...

 

It made sense at the time. Just go to the Wiccan store on the other side of town, grab a book about summoning the dead and voila! Right? It was that simple. Obviously ghosts existed so why couldn’t witches? Werewolves? Vampires? I just had to summon my parents. I had to know what happened that night. I had to know that they loved me. But...

 

But I didn’t know what I was getting into. I didn’t realize the trouble you could cause with such a simple book. I guess that’s why I’m telling you this. Somebody has to know what happened.


	2. Something Wicked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two months after the death of her parents, Cassidy gets the courage to find them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really suck at summaries

It was beautiful out. I had “graduated” from school so all homework was long forgotten. The sun was shining and it was a cloudless sky. I had spent the night before researching and taking down notes, wanting as much information as I could get on the subject. I needed to know. I had to make sure.

I lay awake in bed staring at the clock. It was only six in the morning but my mind wouldn’t stop running. I could hear my Aunt Trudy downstairs in the kitchen, probably cooking up one of her uber healthy breakfast dishes that I would gag at. She was on yet another health kick and I had to suffer because of it. 

It had been two months since the death of my parents and they still hadn’t shown up. I had expected something by now. Even a small message to let me know they were there. But it had been quiet. At first I thought I had lost the Sight but then I saw Mr. Barker from next door and we had a lovely conversation about his garden. He had been dead for almost two years. 

I finally dragged myself out of bed once the clock read six thirty, not longer able to stay there. I gathered my clothes for the day and headed for the shower, letting the hot water stream over me and relax my tense muscles. Once that was done and I had a towel wrapped around me, I stared at my reflection. Pale blue eyes stared right back. They were still a bit shrunken but it was getting better. Freckles dotted over my nose and cheeks. My dark red hair fell around me in damp waves. 

Ghosts didn’t have a reflection. It was one of the first things I noticed. I could see them, but only if I was directly looking at them. If they were floating past a window or a mirror, their reflection was missing. So every morning I stared at myself in the mirror to make sure mine was still there. 

When I eventually emerged from the bathroom and headed downstairs, the smells of Trudy’s cooking were strong and clear...and horrible. I usually did most of my own cooking after she left for the day and would make sure to eat something right before she got back so I was never hungry for “dinner”. Right now, it looked like she was concocting some kind of smoothie loaded with what I could only assume were vegetables and fruit. Which, I get it, that doesn’t sound so bad right? Except she always added something else to it. Fish oil, bland protein powder (and a hell of a lot of it)...really anything she considered a health boost. The mix never turned out edible.   
“Ah! Cassidy! Right in time.” Aunt Trudy looked too much like my mother I sometimes thought it was her. The same red hair, the same facial structure...really they could have passed off as twins. But there were subtle differences that always brought me back to reality. My mom’s eyes were cold and blue, like mine; Aunt Trudy had her father’s dark brown eyes that were warm. Her hair was greying where as my mom would never let something like that show. Mom and dad never really told the rest of the family about my “gifts” so on the outside, we were the perfect family. All the time in the hospital? A scare with cancer. My absence at family gatherings? Teenagers will be teenagers!

“Morning Aunt Trudy,” I gave her one of my best fake smiles. 

“I’ve just made the most delicious smoothie! You have got to try it!” She began pouring a huge glass for me and I could already feel my stomach turning at the thought of drinking the green sludge. And really, it was sludge. It was thick and moved like mud. When it hit the glass, it made a wet plopping sound. 

“Looks great!” I internally screamed as I took a tentative sip. I was suddenly assaulted with an overpowering taste of fish oil. “Mmm....so good!” Trying not to gag, I gave her another smile. Aunt Trudy beamed at me and poured herself a glass as well.

“I have another meeting tonight at work so I’ll be late coming home,” Trudy sat down at the kitchen island. “Will you be alright?”

“Of course!” I nodded. “I always am, aren’t I?” She gave me a small, sad smile and nodded her head. 

“You know, Cass, you can talk to me. You’re mom and I weren’t close but...well, after what happened, you just seem so...so calm. I would have thought you’d be throwing fits or something.”

“Everybody handles grief differently,” I offered. 

“I know.” Aunt Trudy downed the rest of her drink and stood up, kissing me on my forehead. “Well, you know my number. If you need anything, just call.” I said my goodbyes and waved as she left the house and locked it. Now, for the real work to begin. 

First, I dumped the sludge into the garbage and threw that out so Aunt Trudy wouldn’t know. Next, I grabbed my bag, phone, keys and the address I had jotted down the night before and headed out. City transit wasn’t the worst but it was still annoying sometimes. I had been using mom and dad’s vehicle to get around but that had been a write off after the accident. 

I could have bought my own with the money my parents left me but I hadn’t wanted to touch it yet. I just couldn’t. So, public transit was the only other option for me. I stood waiting for the bus, playing a game on my phone, when some kids I used to know passed me. 

“Oh my gawd! Is that Cassidy?” Micah Evers, someone who used to be my friend, paused mid-step to stare at me. 

“Hey Micah....” I gave a small wave and went back to my game. Micah was my best friend until everything started happening to me. We were joined at the hip but she was the first to leave me. 

“I am so sorry about your parents,” Michael feigned sadness. “They were some of the best people I knew.” 

Then where were you for the last ten years? I thought bitterly. “Yeah, they were.” I said instead. 

“We should, like, totally hang out again. We’ve got some much catching up to do!”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “That’ll happen.” Happy that her good deed was done, Micah smiled at me and waved for her entourage to follow her. She had gained a lot of popularity over the years, much to my dismay and humiliation. She had started spreading rumours around the school about me, making sure everyone turned their backs on me. I had hoped something horrible would have happened to her bleach blonde hair at least. Or to maybe loose a crystal blue eye. You know, normal everyday revenge stuff.

My bus finally came by and I hopped on, greatful to finally be getting to my destination. Of course, it took nearly half an hour and a few bus changes to actually get there but I didn’t mind.

I felt a chill run up my spine as I looked at the shop in front of me; The Black Cat. Kind of a cliche name but who cares, right? It served its purpose of being the only Wiccan store in town. I could feel...something coming off in waves from the store. Something dark and powerful but at the same time light and carefree. It was weird. Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and headed inside. A bell softly chimed above me as the door opened and my nose was immediately assaulted with incense. It wasn’t too over powering but it was definitely strong. 

“Welcome!” A voice drifted over the shelving units from the back of the store. “What can I get for you today?” A small, older lady with greying hair tied in a bun came around the corner of one unit, a warm smile on her face. She wore deep purple robes with different symbols on them. As soon as she saw me, a look of recognition passed over her eyes and she stepped closer, a different kind of smile taking over her lips. 

“I-I um...well I...I need-”

“Shh shh,” the woman hushed me and took my hand. “I know why you’re here, dear.” She started pulling me along to the back of the store. Along the way, we passed candles of all sorts, books, things in bottles that I didn’t want to take another look at. “It was a shame what happened to your parents. Such lovely people. On the outside.” She sent a wink at me over her shoulder and continued pulling me to the back of the store.

“You knew my parents?” I asked, confused. They hated this kind of stuff.

“Not personally,” the woman admitted. “But I know them. As I know you.” 

The back wall had a doorway with beads hanging from the ceiling. She pushed them aside and motioned for me to go through. Hesitantly, I did so and my eyes went wide. It was like I stepped into a story book. A fireplace stood at one end, fire gently burning. A black pot hung above it, something scentless bubbling away in it. A circle was carved into the ground with more weird symbols and some candles surrounding it. Bookshelves were filled with old tomes, dust slowly collecting. If I didn’t know any better, I would have said I had stepped into an old witch’s hut. 

“Now, let me introduce myself, dear.” The woman followed me into the room and went over to the pot, sticking a spoon in and stirring it. “My name is Melinda. You must have so many questions that the internet couldn’t answer. I’m actually surprised it took you this long to come but oh well. Fate must have it set in stone.”

“I’m sorry?” I was beyond confused and ready to bolt. She turned back to me, a gleam in her eye that I didn’t like.

“And you, dear, are Cassidy Montgomery. Eighteen years old and you have been gifted with the Sight since birth.”


	3. This Way Comes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy finds herself with more questions than answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like, really bad at summaries.

I was blown away. How could somebody I never met know that about me? I was ready to bolt but something kept me locked in place. A curiosity so strong it nearly knocked my breath away. Honey eyes looked me over as Melinda circled me, muttering to herself. Occasionally, she would touch my hair or my shoulder, nod to herself, and then continue her scrutiny.

 

“How do you know I have the Sight?” I finally asked.

 

“There’s an aura about you,” Melinda replied. “All Mediums have it.”

 

“Medium?” I turned to look at her.

 

“Medium, Seer; Those who can see the dead among us,” Melinda gave me a small smile. “And you, dear, are probably the first I’ve seen in ages. Now, you probably have a million questions! Where shall we begin?”

 

“I actually only have one....” Melinda led me over to a chair and sat me down while she worked away at her boiling pot. “Where are my parents? Why haven’t they come back yet? Will they come back? Are they actually here and am I just losing my Sight?”

 

“That’s more than one,” Melinda commented with laughter in her voice. “As for your parents...well, I have a book for you.” She went to one of the bookshelves and pulled out a small book. Brushing off some of the dust, she handed it to me and I gazed at the title, my brows drawing together.

 

“Handbook for the Recently Deceased?” I looked back up at Melinda.

 

“That book is filled to the brim with information that only the dead could access,” Melinda explained. “I was lucky enough to get my hands on one but do they sure try to get it back. Be careful with it dear, there are things in there that can either do amazing or horrible things.”

 

I carefully flipped through the pages, skimming some of the information, and felt even more questions well up in me.

 

“As for your parents,” Melinda gave a sad little huff. “Well, I can only assume they’re in the waiting room. The waiting room is where the dead go to talk to their case worker, someone who will help them in the afterlife. They must have gone straight there after the accident.” I closed the book and looked back up at Melinda.

 

“Is that all in the book?” I asked.

 

“Yes and no,” Melinda answered. “I’ve had many a conversation with the ghosts that come through here. They’ve been very helpful in answering things the handbook does not.”

 

“Will this let me summon my parents?” I finally asked the one question I had originally come here for; Summoning ghosts.

 

“Summoning spells are powerful and dangerous,” Melinda began. “Say it wrongly and you’ll end up exercising them. You’ll also make them visible to the living world. That in itself is very dangerous. If the living were to know what was beyond the grave, who knows what would happen? Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t. I’m saying make sure you know exactly what you’re doing before you do it. Research it. Ask questions. Anything and everything.”

 

I looked back down at the book, thinking. This could hold all the answers I wanted and then some.

 

“If you’re really sure about summoning, I have a few other books I can lend you. They may help.” Melinda went back to her bookshelf and started rummaging around. I opened the handbook back up and did a double take. There, on the inside of the cover, was a passage scribbled down. Blinking, I quickly read it while Melinda’s back was turned.

 

_Betelgeuse_

_Betelgeuse_

_Betelgeuse_

 

What on earth? I quickly slammed the book shut again and stood up just as Melinda turned, three books in her hands. She handed them over and I took them, flipping them so I could rear the spines. _How to Summon: 100 Things You NEED To Know, Incantations: Beginners,_ and finally _Ghosts, Demons and Ghouls_. They were heavy books and very old looking, bound in leather with intricate writing on the covers. 

 

“ Now take your time with these and don’t rush into anything! Magic is a strange and dangerous thing to possess. And it may turn out you can’t wield it at all. Some Seers only have the ability of the Sight and nothing else. So I recommend starting with  _ Incantations: Beginners _ first. That’ll point you in the right direction.” Satisfied with her work, Melinda started heading for the front of the shop again, expecting me to follow. I did, having no other option, but when I turned to look back on the room I found it...gone. The wall was solid, there was no door way with bead curtains. 

 

“I-”

 

“Can’t have people knowing about it, dear,” Melinda answered before I could even ask. “Again, we have no way to know what the living might do when the thought of magic being real is revealed.” She grabbed a bag from behind her counter and I put all the books inside of it.

 

“T-thank you...I think?” I was still so confused.

 

“Just run along home and start reading,” Melinda gave me another warm smile. “And if you have any questions, I’m always here.” With a wink, I was whisked out of the front door and onto the sidewalk. Dumbfounded, my limbs started moving automatically and I suddenly found myself back home and in my room, dumping the books out onto my bed.

 

I sat down beside the pile and grabbed at the first book; The Handbook for the Recently Deceased.  I flipped it open to the first page again and ran my fingers over the three words. 

 

_Betelgeuse_

_Betelgeuse_

_Betelgeuse_

 

Was it a spell? A name? Did I want to find out what would happen if I said it? Not right at that moment.  Instead, I flipped to the beginning of the first chapter and began reading.

 

\- - - -

Hours later and I was still immearsed in the book. All the information in there was amazing. Stuff from Haunting to Possession, how long a ghost has to haunt their old home...it was filled to the brim with facts. Out of everything though, it didn’t have much on those who could _see_ ghosts.

 

“ _The living don’t usually see the strange and unusual,”_ I spoke softly even though I was the only one home. “ _There are those who are Gifted with the Sight. Rare as they are, it is estimated that 1 out of every_ _4_ _0 of the living_ _have the Sight.”_ And that was it. ‘Estimated that 1 out of every 40’? If that was right, then I should have run into someone else by now, other than Melinda. And she stated that I was the first she’s seen in ages. Then again, I didn’t know how old this book was. Maybe there was an updated version somewhere...

 

There was, however, a way to summon ghosts in the Handbook. I heard Melinda in my mind, saying to start with the beginner’s book but I was never a patient kind of girl. I flipped back to the summoning page and quickly read through it.

 

Okay, I needed something personal of mom and dad’s. Easy peasy. There were boxes loaded with their stuff in the attic. I thanked whatever deity was looking down on me that day that Aunt Trudy had to work late. If she knew what I was about to do, I was pretty sure I’d be thrown in a mental hospital.

 

The attic was full of dust and cobwebs. We hardly used anything up there anymore but I wasn’t ready to go through their things and put aside what I wanted to keep and what could go to good will. But I knew exactly which box I needed in order to preform the spell. In a box labelled “Personals” I found my mom’s wedding ring and my dad’s famous leather glove that he got from his favourite baseball team. It was signed and everything. The wedding ring was my grandmother’s. Since my mom’s mom had died at an early age, my dad’s mom kind of stepped up once she realized things were serious between him and my mom. They grew so close. I knew my mom treasured this ring above all of her other possessions.

 

Satisfied with what I had, I went back to my room and set the items in the middle of the floor. Next, I sat cross legged in front of them and grabbed the book.

 

“Hands vermilion, start of five. Bright cotillion, raven’s dive. Nightshade’s promise, spirits strive. To the living let now the dead come alive!” I closed my eyes as I finished the chant and waited. And...waited. I peeked. Nothing.

 

Sighing, I flopped down onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. I needed to keep reading but a five minute rest was much needed. Looking at text all day was putting a strain on my eyes. And apparently my brain if I thought the summoning spell would actually work. Decided, I went downstairs for some water and a small snack before heading back up. When I got to my room again, something was off. Everything was where I had left it. Except for one of the books. I know I hadn’t opened any of them before I left the room but _Ghosts, Demons and Ghouls_ was laying open. Hesitantly, I inched myself towards the bed and looked down at the page.

 

“ _Three is a powerful number in the world of magic. Say a spell three times and the result will be tenfold. Names work the same as spells. They can be used to bind someone or set them free.”_ Then the book started flipping pages rapidly. I jumped back, spilling my water and dropping my food, as I watched the paper move on its own. It eventually landed on a drawn picture of a man. Underneath it was a name; _Betelgeuse._

 

“ _Betelgeuse is one such Demon whose name carries powerful meaning. Locked away to avoid the harm and or death of more humans, Betelgeuse can only be freed by saying his name three times. It is advised not to unleash this creature upon the living. He may claim he can help but it’s only to his own benefit.”_

 

Underneath that passage was another one, this one hand written. 

 

“ _Have questions no one can answer? In need of a friend? Call your buddy Betelgeuse! Say it once! Say it twice! Say it thrice!”_

 

I mean, what could go wrong, right?

 

“Betelgeuse...” I whispered. Almost instantly I felt some sort of power rush through me. Magic wasn’t real, right? This was all phony. The summoning spell proved that. But I could see ghosts...

 

“Betelgeuse.” I said it louder this time and again, that rush happened. Even if magic was real, what would this demon offer me? What kind of deal would I have to make in order to get what I want? Because that’s how it worked, right? A deal had to be made?

 

“Betelgeuse!” I practically yelled. Lightening flashed outside even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the lights in my room went off. A sudden wind picked up around me, whipping my hair around my face. I threw my hands up to shield my eyes as some things went flying around the room. I could hear my drawers opening and closing. Then it suddenly stopped. It was quiet. So very, very quiet. Lowering my hands, I looked around me and saw that everything was back in place, like the wind had never happened.

 

Then I heard it. Cackling coming from behind me.

 

“It’s show time!”


	4. Boo!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy unleashes something she didn't think was real. Now she has to face the consequences.

I whirled around and screamed. Standing behind me was a deathly pale man in a black and white stripped suit. His hair flew all over the place and was tinged green, moss grew all over his face and he looked like he hadn’t bathed in years. I started scrambling away from him, trying to get to the other side of the room and as far away from him as I could.

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Enough with the screeching and the yelling!” His voice was gravelly and low, his green eyes wild.

 

“What the fuck is going on? How did that work? Magic isn’t real!” I cried out. I pulled my desk chair between us. I knew it did nothing to protect me but I somehow felt safer with it there. The man looked at me like I was an idiot and shoved his hands in his pockets, rolling back onto his heels.

 

“Well it looks like we’ve got one of the three stooges here,” he said in a soft voice before yelling at me. “Of course magic is real! You’ve been reading about it for the last five fucking hours!” I blinked at him and then looked down at the handbook.

 

“How’d you know that?” I asked.

 

“Who d’ya think left the message?” The book suddenly flipped to the hand written passage under Betelgeuse’s entry. Realization dawned on me and my eyes flicked back up to his.

 

“You’re really him.” It wasn’t a question, more like a statement. “You’re Beetlej-”

 

“AH! Careful with a B-word, babes.” He went over to the bed and picked up _Incantations_ _: Beginners_ and started flipping through the pages. “Don’t want to be going back down there anytime soon.” He stopped at one page, read through it, and then burst out laughing. It was a cold a cruel laugh and had him doubling over. “Where did you _get_ this load o’ shit? Is this why you called me?”

 

“No! I wanted-”

 

“Let me guess,” Beetlejuice held up his hands to stop me from saying anything else. “You’re a wannabe witch!”

 

“I am n-”

 

“You read about them online and decided ‘Oh! I’m going to be that when I grow up!’” He mimicked my voice perfectly.

 

“Damn it would you let me finish my sentence!” I yelled and he finally shut up. “I wanted to summon my parents but that stupid summoning spell didn’t work.” He looked confused for a moment before picking up the handbook and looking at the page I was on. Understanding dawned on his features.

 

“You know this is also an exercising spell, right?” He asked.

 

“What?!”

 

“Relax kid, you would have to summon them first before you exercise them.” Beetlejuice set the book down on my bed and looked around the room. “Since they obviously aren’t here...I’d wager they probably just moved on. It happens. Ghosts with no unfinished business just move on to the next place. Whatever that is.”

 

“No...unfinished business?” I looked down at my hands. “But I’m here.” It was silent for a moment and I could feel his eyes on me but I didn’t look up. Too many thoughts were racing through my head. Suddenly, an ice cold hand grabbed my chin and lifted my face up, forcing me to look at him.

 

“Fuck them.” He said simply. The sudden gentleness in him surprised me but it didn’t last long. A sleazy grin replaced the serious look in an instant and he let my chin go. “Besides, why would you want to summon the world’s most boring people when you could have _me_? The Ghost with the Most! I can preform tricks! I can get revenge on those who’ve hurt you! Hell, I’ll even throw in a free birthday party.”

 

“The book called you a demon. So doesn’t that mean anything you do comes with a price or a deal?”

 

“ _Poltergeist,_ my dear Watson,” his voice suddenly changed to a British accent and he stood up straight. “The word is _poltergeist.”_ He changed back to his normal voice. “That book is so old they just figure its easier to call us all demons.” With a snap of his fingers, the books closed themselves and went neatly into my bookshelf. “Now! Let’s get down to business! Why did you call me? Who do I need to scare?”

 

I suddenly felt embarrassed. I didn’t have a job for him and if it was true about my parents, he couldn’t teach me to summon them. I bit my lip and looked away but saw him deflate from the corner of my eye.

 

“Sorry,” I shook my head. “I really didn’t think saying your name would work. I don’t even know why I let her talk me into reading those books. I just wanted answers. Maybe I should just send you back.”

 

“No!” He said quickly. “Uh, you said ya had questions right? Well I might just be the ghost who can answer them!” He fell to his knees and hugged my legs. “Oh please don’t send me back there!” A cold shock went through my entire body at the contact. He was absolutely freezing! Trying to wriggle away from him, I pushed on his shoulders so he’d get the hint and let go.

 

“Would you let me go?!” I pushed harder against him and tried to move away but only ended up falling on my ass in the process.

 

“Don’t send me back that! It’s literal hell! I was stuck in that waiting room for five fucking years! You don’t know what that can do to a guy!” I was finally able to kick him off of my and scrambled to stand up.

 

“I don’t care! You don’t just grab someone and-wait, _five_ years?” I looked down at him. He was still on the floor, sitting with his back against my bed and a cigarette between his teeth. “It takes that long?”

 

“Sometimes longer,” Beetlejuice shrugged. “That’s the way the world works down there, kiddo. You’re dead so the higher ups think you have all the time in the world to just sit and do nothing.”

 

“Higher ups? Like...God?” I sat down across from him and leaned against the wall, pulling my knees to my chest.

 

“No. He doesn’t have much to do with the Neitherworld. Only those who cross over get to meet the big man. No, the Neitherworld is a bureaucratic bullshit land where there is endless paperwork and absolutely no fun to be hand.”

 

“The Neitherworld...” I repeated the word, trying it out. “And everyone goes there? To this waiting room? Why? What are they waiting for? What happens after you leave the waiting room?”

 

“Jesus you ask a lot of questions,” Beetlejuice inhaled from his cigarette deeply. I got back up again and opened a window so the smell wouldn’t linger. Last thing I needed was for Aunt Trudy to ask questions. Beetlejuice chuckled at my attempted. “I already answered the first question. Not everyone goes to the waiting room. Only those with unfinished business or have trouble accepting they’re dead. That’s when one of two things happen; either they’re sent straight to the waiting room or they find themselves back at their house, where they have to haunt for a hundred and twenty-seven years.”

 

“Wow.” I sat back down across from him. “Why so long?”

 

“You read the handbook, you should be able to tell me.” Was all he said. I made a face but thought back to what the book had said. It was like...a purgatory almost. Like the waiting room but instead, the ghosts had the comfort of their own home to deal with the trauma they went through. Some ghosts were attached to a living being however and were forced to follow that person, whether it be family or friend, until they were given the power to move on.

 

“And you said my parents probably moved on because they had nothing to hold them back here...” I began. “Is there a way to know for sure? Like...someone I could ask?” Beetlejuice leaned his back and puffed out a few smoke rings as he thought.

 

“Not really. Nobody has ever really come back and we don’t know what’s on the other side so...” He shrugged and looked back at me. “Why can you see us? The living ignore the dead.”

 

“I don’t know. I was born with the ability to see you.” It was my turn to shrug. “Some books said it could be a curse or something passed along the bloodline but my mother and father couldn’t see ghosts.”

 

“Hmm.” He narrowed his eyes and regarded me carefully. I started fidgeting under his intense stare and eventually had to break eye contact with him but I could still feel him staring. Eventually he looked away but I could tell he was still trying to figure me out. “What about your friends? Any of them into witchcraft?”

 

“What friends?” I asked sarcastically. “They all left me once they realized I wasn’t normal.”

 

“Ouch.”

 

“So now I’m very much alone,” I gave a mirthless laugh. “My parents didn’t even want to stick around to make sure I was okay. They probably saw me as more of a burden than anything else. I mean, what good is an insane daughter, right? And now I can’t get any answers because there’s no one to ask so I have to continue on with life as if nothing is wrong and-” A cold hand was suddenly covering my mouth, stopping me from continuing on with my rant.

 

“Are you always like this or am I just getting the special treatment?” Beetlejuice asked. He was very close to me. I could feel the chill of his skin radiating off of him.

 

“Mmpf,” was my reply.

 

“Listen kid, I think we can help each other out.” He moved away from me, taking his hand with him, and I wiped my mouth which was now freezing cold. “You could use a friend, I need help with some revenge, I think it’ll work out great!”

 

“So in other words you want to use me to get what you want.” I crossed my arms. “Was this all planned out? Did you know someone was going to pick that book up? Did you know it was going to be me?”

 

“Again with the questions!” Beetlejuice sighed dramatically. “No, I didn’t know any of this would happen. I can’t read the future, idiot. No, I just need help finding someone who owes me. That’s all! You just have to play driver.”

 

“And if I help you...then what? What do I get?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“You get to hang out with the most handsome, most amazing man on the planet, babes.” He winked at me and I rolled my eyes.

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“Come on, whadda say? You and me, the sky will be the limit! And even then I could probably go past that!” He opened his arms wide and waggled his eyebrows. “You know you wanna! Have a little adventure with The Ghost with the Most.” I snorted at that and tried to hide a grin.

 

“Slight problem with that ‘Ghost with the Most’,” I snickered. “I don’t have a car so we won’t be going very far.” This seemed to stump him for a moment.

 

“You’re like, what, seventeen? Don’t all seventeen year old’s have one?”

 

“Maybe if they’re super rich,” I replied. “Also I’m eighteen thank you very much.”

 

“Oh, so you’re legal are ya?” He gave me a once over again before cackling as I groaned.

 

“Is this the type of thing I can expect?” I asked. “Dirty jokes?”

 

“You bet your sweet ass you can, babes.” He laughed again, apparently my expression being more than enough to keep his giggles coming.

 

“Maybe I should just send you back...” I tapped my finger on my chin, like I was considering the option.

 

“No!”


	5. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy finds herself questioning why the 'Ghost with the Most' is sticking around.

“So what’s your name anyways?” Beetlejuice suddenly asked. I was downstairs making dinner and he was floating in the air behind me, watching my every move.

 

“I never said?” I looked at him over my shoulder while I stirred the sauce I was making.

 

“Nope.” He picked at his nails in a bored manner now. “Called me up all willy nilly and didn’t even have enough manners to introduce herself.”

 

“Ha,” I rolled my eyes and turned back to my task at hand. “My name is Cassidy.”

 

“Cassidy, Cassidy,” Beetlejuice repeated. “Ya know what Cassy, I think we’re gonna be the best of friends.”

 

“I wouldn’t hold my breath...” I muttered as I finished up the sauce and put some pasta in boiling water.

 

“Ya know why? We’re two peas in a pod!” Beetlejuice floated down until he was standing and leaned against the counter beside me. “You and me, we’re misunderstood. I think we could be a load of help for each other.”

 

“So in the span of two hours, you’ve got me all figured out.” My voice dripped with sarcasm. Waiting for the pasta to cook, I turned to face him and crossed my arms. He was smoking another cigarette and I just knew the smell was going to linger. My aunt would have a fit.

 

“Hey, believe what you want but we ain’t so different,” he shrugged. “Plus, once you get some wheels, I bet we could get up to all sorts of troub-I mean adventures!” I rolled my eyes and turned back to my dinner, stirring the pasta and dubbing them cooked enough. Carefully, I removed the pot from the element and headed over to the skin. Of course, as luck would have it, I bumped the pot against the edge of the counter and boiling water spilled, covering my hand.

 

“Fuck!” I yelled and dropped the pot in the sink, splashing more water on me. I went to run my hand under the tap when ice cold ones grabbed mine and held them. I stood, shocked, for a moment as the cold of his skin seeped into mine and effectively took the sting of the hot water away. “Jesus, you’re cold.” I muttered more to myself than to him.

 

“You humans break so easy,” Beetlejuice shook his head. “Gotta be more careful, kid.” Just then the front door unlocked and my aunt walked in. I freaked out for a second, thinking she was going to scream once she saw Beetlejuice, but she only smiled at me and put her things down on the counter.

 

“Hey pumpkin,” Trudy greeted. “How was your day? Do anything exciting? Did you send in more resumes?” She walked right past Beetlejuice, who stood there smirking at me, and tsked at all the water on the floor.

 

“Sorry Aunt Trudy,” I grabbed a towel and started mopping up the water. “I hit the counter and water went everywhere.” Thankfully the pasta was still in the pot.

 

“You didn’t burn yourself did you? I can see your shirt is soaked through.” Aunt Trudy shook her head as she took in my appearance.

 

“Too bad it wasn’t a white shirt.” I heard Beetlejuice say and I shot a glare at him before standing up.

 

“Yeah, I’m going to go change. Can you finish the pasta? Just add the sauce in,” I pointed to the stove and ran upstairs to quickly change out of my soaked shirt and into a dry one. A low whistle sounded from my bed and I whirled around, holding my shirt against my chest, and locked eyes with Beetlejuice.

 

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!” I whisper yelled. “You can’t just...pop in like that when I’m changing!”

 

“Can’t I?” He waggled his eyebrows at me and laughed. “Relax babes, I didn’t see anything. Your aunt was giving me the creeps.” I slid into my closet and finished changing in there. When I came back out, Beetlejuice was still on my bed but he was flipping through the Handbook.

 

“How could my aunt give you the creeps? You’re the ghost.” I went back downstairs before he had time to reply and walked in on my aunt with her headphones it and dancing along to whatever she was playing. It must have been a real bop because she was dancing like no one was watching and it was getting...kind of disturbing.

 

“See? She’s possessed! I ain’t ever known a breather who could do...that without being possessed!” Beetlejuice hovered behind me and peered at my aunt with horror.

 

“She’s just dancing Beej,” I laughed. “She does it all the time.”

 

“Beej?” He made a face at the nickname.

 

“Well I can’t call you by your full name and I’m not going to just say ‘hey you’ every time I want to tell you something. So...yeah. Beej.” I headed into the kitchen and piled pasta onto a plate. Aunt Trudy continued her dance all the way into the study where she promptly shut the door. She was a lawyer and had very demanding hours. I couldn’t refuse her a few minutes of freedom like this. Where my mom had been prim, proper, and a real pain in the ass adult, Aunt Trudy was more childlike. She didn’t care that she laughed loudly or sang out of tune. In a way, I kind of wish she had been my mom instead.

 

“So, babes,” Beetlejuice was floating around my head as I walked over to the kitchen table and sat down to eat. “What do you say you and me go out tomorrow and get us some wheels.”

 

“You’re really impatient,” I replied around a mouth full of food. “Getting a car takes time. Like...days. And you haven’t even told me where we’re going yet. I can’t exactly drive you some place I don’t know the location of. And can’t you just poof there yourself? You’re free now. Why are you sticking around? Go get your revenge thing done.”

 

“You tryin’ ta get rid of me already?” Beetlejuice floated down so he was eye level with me. “Come on, babes! It’ll be fun! Get outta the city for a while, hang with the best looking ghost ever...what more could you want?” Out of the city?

 

“Why do you want me to go anyways?” I asked. “I’m not that exciting. If anything, you’ll get bored of me within a day. And you aren’t denying the fact that you could just poof to wherever this place is.”

 

“Betcha I won’t get bored.” I gave him a look that said I wasn’t convinced. Sighing heavily, he plopped himself into the chair beside me. “I do have an ulterior motive for this. If I just ‘poof’ in, as you so put it, I’ll be detected! They’ll know I’m there in an instant. _But_ if I were to slip in under the radar? Well, they’d never see it coming.”

 

“So by me driving you...you wouldn’t be using magic to get in...which is what they would detect...wouldn’t they know you’re out anyways? Since that’s magic?”

 

“I’m far enough away and it’s been so very long, the idiots probably forgot about me.” He laughed at the thought. “Not that anyone would _want_ to forget about me.”

 

“So why not just go to whatever line it is you can’t cross magically and then walk the rest of the way? Surely it can’t be that far.” I pushed my food around on my plate, suddenly losing my appetite.

 

“Yeesh you’re a real downer on yourself, ain’t ya?” Beetlejuice shook his head. “Look, kid. I need ya to help me here. You’re right, I could have been gone the second you said my name but hey, I stuck around. I think that should earn me some points. And besides, you might get some more answers about your parents if you come with! See? I’m trying ta help you out too.”

 

“Hm.” I took another fork full of food so I didn’t have to answer right away. He agreed with me, he could have left right away. But he didn’t. Why? Because he needed my help? That didn’t seem like a good enough reason. He could have chosen anyone else. But then again, it may be because I can actually see him. It was all so confusing. There was a real poltergeist sitting at my kitchen table asking me for help. _My_ help. Someone who was shunned for being able to see things that weren’t supposed to be there. But he didn’t care because he was one of those things.

 

“Aunt Trudy!” I called out and headed over to the study. I knocked on the door a few times before entering. She still had her headphones in so I knew she didn’t hear me call for her. Walking up to her, I put my hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump.

 

“Oh! Cassidy!” Aunt Trudy turned her music off. “You scared me!”

 

“Sorry Aunt Trudy,” I smiled sweetly at her. “But I wanted to run something by you.”

 

“Well, sure pumpkin,” Aunt Trudy turned in her seat so she could fully look at me. “What’s up?”

 

“I want to get a car.” I held my breath and waited for her response.

 

“What a fine idea!” Aunt Trudy beamed. “I was wondering when you’d come asking about that. I’ve even started looking a few for sale around the city. There’s a really cute one I think you’ll just adore!”

 

“Can we go looking tomorrow? It is Saturday...”

 

“Of course! Now go finish your dinner and I can show you some of the ones I’ve bookmarked. Oh, this is so exciting! Your first car!” Aunt Trudy turned back to the computer and started pulling up pages and pages on cars. I headed back into the kitchen and...found all my food gone.

 

“What the hell?” I muttered. The plate was completely clean, like someone had licked-

 

“Boy that was delicious,” Beetlejuice belched behind me. “You sure know how to cook, kid.”

 

“You ate my food.” I picked up the plate and sighed.

 

“Yup. Now, we’re getting wheels tomorrow?”

 

“No, we’re looking for wheels tomorrow. I told you, getting a vehicle takes time. We need to make sure it’s not a piece of shit that will break down as soon as we get out of the driveway.” Beetlejuice huffed and grabbed the fork off the plate before I could put it in the dishwasher. He then proceeded to eat the rest of the pasta out of the put. “My aunt still needs to eat.” That didn’t stop him.

 

“Alright so I’m stuck here for a couple of days,” Beetlejuice said around a mouthful of food. “So what can a guy like me, an everyday Joe like myself, do for fun?”

 

“Stay out of trouble? Hide here until we find something?” I deadpanned.

 

“Ick, no.” He shook his head so much it actually started to spin around. I stared in horror as it spun before he grabbed it and forced it still. “Don’t cha hate it when that happens?”

 

“Jesus Christ.” I breathed. I really hoped that wasn’t a common thing that happened.

 

“Nope, just me. But I hear he’s a great guy.” Beetlejuice cackled before eating more pasta. Wide eyed, I took the pot away from him and set it on the counter. “Awe.” I spooned the rest into a container, which wasn’t much thanks to him, and set it in the fridge for my aunt. Once that was done, I put the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher and turned it on before heading back up to my room. I didn’t check to see if he was following, I somehow knew he would.

 

“We need a game plan,” I started once my door was closed. “I need to know where we’re going, what we’re going to be doing and all the stuff in between. Now.” Beetlejuice just looked at me for a moment. “I just watched your head spin around. You’re a poltergeist who apparently wants revenge on someone and has asked me to give you a ride to that someone. I need to know what I’m getting into.”

 

“Hope you got all night kid, cuz it’s one hell of a story.” He pulled my desk chair out and sat down, giving a pointed look at the bed. I took the hint, sat down, and waited. “Alright, so it all began with these two newbie ghosts.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I smell backstory coming


	6. Join Me on the Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beetlejuice delves into his side of the story with the Maitland's and what really happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Backstory time! With a little more!

It all started with the Maitlands. Every problem he had was because of them. He was stuck in the Waiting Room for five fucking years because of them. He wasn’t free to roam around because of them. It was all. Their. Fault. Them and that kid. _Lydia._ He had it all planned out. He was going to scare off those breathers, the Mainlands would set him free, and he’d just throw them in his place for a couple hundred years or so. It was perfect!

 

They had just died and it just so happened he was looking for a job. They looked dumb enough to listen to him and he was willing to bet it wouldn’t take much to peak their interests. So Beetlejuice took to camping out in Adam Maitland’s miniature of the town they lived in. It hopefully wouldn’t take them too long to figure out he was in there. All he needed was for them to free him. However, it ended up taking longer than he anticipated.

 

He tried dropping hints. He left a flyer in the Handbook for them and even made a homemade commercial for them to watch but they didn’t get it.

 

Then he realized they had gone to the Waiting Room, and he was sure they’d be stuck there for years waiting for Juno. He didn’t have that kind of time. He needed out now.

 

“Who is Juno?” I interrupted.

 

“What?”

 

“Who is Juno?” I repeated. He had been staring off into space while he talked so I didn’t blame him for being surprised at my sudden question.

 

“Juno is a caseworker. She reviews ghost’s files and helps them when she can, if she can.” Beetlejuice shrugged. “She’s more of a pain in the ass than anything else. Stuck up little old lady who thinks she’s better than everyone else. She has a real hatred for me though. Can’t imagine why.”

 

“Case worker? So, does that mean every ghost has one? Is there one for every ghost or do they share caseworkers?” I was now sitting on the edge of the bed, excited to learn something more about the Neitherworld.

 

“Do you want to hear the story or not, kid?”

 

“Sorry.”

 

So Beetlejuice was stuck in this model of Winter River, a small town in Connecticut, waiting for these two newbie ghosts to come back when a girl dressed in black showed up. She didn’t look older than sixteen but he knew she would be perfect for a Plan B. That’s what you did when you were stuck in a hole with all the time if the world. You made one plan after another, just in case.

 

Eventually the Maitlands came back and, get this, tried to scare the family off by wearing sheets with cut out holes for eyes. Beetlejuice couldn’t believe how stupid these people were. They even allowed themselves to be seen by the girl! Which caught him off guard. The girl could actually see them. So that meant she’d see him too. It was perfect!

 

So after that blunder with the sheets, the Maitlands finally called on The Ghost with the Most only to screw him over! Can you believe that? All he wanted to do was help and they take off without even coming down for a cup of tea to discuss business. Unbelievable.

 

So then he decided to take matters into his own hands, or coils rather, and scare the family off himself. He turned into a giant snake which was sure to send any breather running. Of course he got sent back to the model before any of the real fun could start. After that, he knew he had to rely on Plan B; the girl. The only other way to be fully free from the bonds he was set in was to marry someone. Not his rules, he didn’t have any rules. In fact, it was a total inconvenience to him. Why should he saddle himself with someone? But, it had to be done. So Lydia and him struck a deal. He’d save the Maitlands from being exercised and she’d marry him. Plain and simple. Except everyone tried ruining the wedding! The Maitlands tried to say his name multiple times, Lydia even tried to say it! Who goes back on a deal with a poltergeist?

 

It all came to a sad conclusion when Barbara Maitland rode in on a Sandworm which ate Beetlejuice, sending him right back to the Waiting Room. And from there, the rest was history....

 

\- - - -

 

“That’s...one hell of a story,” I said after a few moments. “You weren’t lying.”

 

“I never do babes.” Beetlejuice was currently floating in the air, laying on his side and looking down at me while I lay on my back, my head over the edge of the bed and my red hair cascading towards the floor. I don’t know when we ended up like this, but it seemed more comfortable for us both.

 

“So you want to...what? Finish the deal?” I asked, my eyes locked on the wall.

 

“And to see the look on their faces when I show up in all my glory,” he chuckled. “But yes. No one gets out of a deal with me that easily. She owes me.”

 

“She was sixteen. That makes you a pedo.”

 

“It’s not like I was gonna sleep with her!” Beetlejuice held a hand up to his chest and pretended to be offended. “I do have some morals. Just not a lot.”

 

“It’s still kind of creepy...”

 

“’It’s still kind of creepy’” he mocked in a perfect version of my voice.

 

“Well it is.” I glanced at him at the corner of my eye and saw he was sticking his tongue out at me. “Mature.”

 

“Desperate times call for desperate measures, kid.” Beetlejuice stopped floating suddenly and landed with a loud thud beside me on the bed. “And boy was I desperate.”

 

“Hm.” I hummed and looked at the clock. It was nearly midnight. “I should go to sleep. Aunt Trudy and I will have to be up early. Do ghosts sleep?” I raised my head a bit so I could look at him. I found him staring intensely back at me.

 

“We can,” Beetlejuice replied. “A lot of the older ghosts don’t anymore though. There isn’t a point. We don’t dream and it’s not even really ‘sleep’. It’s more like resting. You stay on the edge of sleep but you’re still fully aware of what’s going on around you.”

 

“Oh. What will you do all night then?” I sat up fully and stretched.

 

“I’ll think of something.”

 

I didn’t like the tone in his voice. It sounded like he meant to get up to mischief. But I couldn’t expect anything less from someone like him. So I just shrugged and grabbed some pajamas before heading into the bathroom and change and get ready for bed. When I returned, Beetlejuice was no where to be seen.

 

I crawled into bed and turned the lights out, snuggling down into the covers. For the first time in weeks, my dreams were silent.

 

\- - - -

 

I was slowly awoken to air blowing across my face. I knew I didn’t open the window last night so why was there a breeze? I cracked one eye open and jumped back, screaming. I landed on the floor with a thud and Beetlejuice started laughing his head off. He had been sitting on the bed very close to me and blowing on my face. At...a quick check of the clock showed it was only five in the morning.

 

“You asshole.” I ground out as I stood up. “It’s five! Why are you waking me up?”

 

“You said you had to be up early.” Beetlejuice shrugged and stretched out on my bed.

 

“Not this early!” I sighed and flopped down at my desk, my head thunking against the wood. “Aunt Trudy probably isn’t even up yet.” He was surprisingly quiet for a moment and I could feel myself drifting back off to sleep but then he stuck one of his cold hands on the back of my neck and I yelped. “Why?!”

 

“Don’t fall back asleep!” Beetlejuice moved the chair so I was away from the desk and couldn’t lay my head down. “You’re up now so why don’t we do something?”

 

“Like what?” I sighed.

 

“Like...” He looked around the room for a moment, thinking. “I could take ya to the Neitherworld!” I instantly perked up and whirled around so I was facing him.

 

“You can do that?” I started bouncing in my chair excitedly. The Neitherworld! Maybe, just maybe, my parents might be there.

 

“Sure I can! I’m the Ghost with the Most!” With that, he snapped his fingers and I was suddenly dressed in black jeans and a blue shirt with a beetle on the front of it, just above my heart. He grabbed my hand and snapped his fingers again and the world spun for a moment, making me feel slightly nauseous, before righting itself again. I was no longer in my room. Instead, I stood on a sidewalk in what looked like like a normal city except there was one thing that made it oh so different..

 

Dead people walked everywhere. Skeletons, zombies, people cut in half, people with shrunken heads! They all milled about on their daily business. It was amazing!

 

“Yer not in Kansas anymore Toto,” Beetlejuice snickered as I took everything in. “Welcome to the Neitherworld, babes!” He spread his arms wide and I giggled.

 

“It’s amazing! I’ve never seen so many dead people in my life!”

 

“The world is yours, kid. What do you wanna do first?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at me. “Time works differently down here so a few hours will only be five minutes back home.”

 

“Wait...so does that mean when you say you were stuck here for five years, it’s only been a few months?” I turned back to look at him, my eyebrow raised.

 

“Nope. See, the Waiting Room runs on normal time. Just because the higher ups like to fuck with us. Everywhere else though is stuck in a bubble that moves time differently.”

 

“That...makes no sense,” I laughed. “I don’t know where to start! This is all so amazing!”

 

“How about the beginning?” He pointed to the end of the street. “This is the major shopping district for the Neitherworld. We sell everything from lost objects to dreams.”

 

“Dreams?” I furrowed my eyebrows.   


“Remember when I said ghosts don’t dream?” Beetlejuice steered me to a small shop. In the window were tiny orbs of lights with colours flashing from them. “Well, we can buy dreams from the living world. All of these lights are dreams that breather’s are dreaming right now. That’s how you get random looking people in your dreams. They’re ghosts.” I watched through the window as someone with a shark attached to their leg bought a dream. The shop keeper put gloves on and carefully removed a dream from a huge glass cabinet before placing it in a box.

 

“What do you use for money here?”

 

“Normal money,” Beetlejuice shrugged. “Whatever was in your possession when you passed over stayed with you. The Neitherworld has been here since the beginning of time so we’ve got our own banking system and everything.”

 

“Wow...” I ran to the next shop and looked at the sign. “Oh! Pets!”

 

“I wouldn’t-” He tried to stop me from looking inside but it was too late. One quick look and I was ready to pass out. They were animals alright, but they weren’t alive. “They’re not...well, you can see.” I slowly backed away from that window. The next window had clothing that was from all over; Victorian dresses, modern clothes, big, white wigs. I ran from window to window, looking at everything the Neitherworld had to offer.

By the time I reached the last window, my legs were screaming at me to stop moving. Sensing my weariness, Beetlejuice led me to a cafe and sat me down at one of the tables outside. A waiter with a missing arm gave us some menus.

 

“Scream-a-chino? Poison apple coffee cake? What on Earth?” I looked over the menu at Beetlejuice who was people watching.

 

“What can I say babes? It’s different down here. I wouldn’t eat the cake though. They really do mean poison.” He flicked his eyes back to me and gave me a wink. I frowned and continued looking at the menu. It was then I noticed people were giving us weird looks. They were subtle at first but then it became more noticeable once they started pointing. Beetlejuice seemed to notice it too because he scowled. “People can’t mind their own damn business...I think we’re about to get company, cupcake.”

 

I gave him a quizzical look when a clap of thunder occurred and we were suddenly sitting in a small office filled with papers and filing cabinets. A small woman in a grey suit sat across from us at a big wood desk. Beetlejuice rolled his eyes and kicked his feet up on the desk, folding his arms behind his head. I blinked at his sudden change in demeanour and took another look at the woman in front of us. She had short grey hair and wrinkles for days. A cigarette was in her hand was burning away but never actually got shorter. She was currently glaring at Beetlejuice with a look of such loathing the term “if looks could kill” came to mind.

 

“Juno?” I hazarded a guess. She fit the description Beetlejuice had given yesterday. Her cold eyes snapped to me and widened slightly, as if suddenly realizing I was there.

 

“You shouldn’t be here!” She flared up, her voice husky from years of smoking. “You shouldn’t have brought her here!” She turned back to Beetlejuice who was now filing his nails. “I couldn’t believe it when someone called on you but I am utterly blown away that they didn’t send you back! And now you’ve kidnapped a living girl?”

 

“I didn’t kidnap her!” Beetlejuice shot back. “She wanted to come here.” Juno turned back to me and looked me up and down. “Kid can see ghosts! Thought I could show her around.”

 

“You brought a Medium here?” Juno kept staring at me and it was starting to unsettling me. “You know how rare those are! Why would you risk bringing one here?”

 

“I can protect her.”

 

“I’m right here guys,” I looked between the two of them, my arms crossed, and leaned back in my chair. “Look, I don’t even really know what a Medium is. I just learned about all this yesterday. He promised to give me some answers if I helped him so I-”

 

“You what?!” Juno jumped up.“You made a deal with the likes of him? Have you no brain? What were you thinking?”

 

“I-”

 

“Answers! Ha! You could have just preformed a seance! Instead you set free one of the most dangerous demons! And you!” She turned back to Beetlejuice. “Tricking this poor girl into helping you. First Lydia, now her. I should send you right back to the Waiting Room. Or to Saturn!”

 

“I’d like to see you try.” He sneered at her. “The kid and I are leaving.”

 

“Child, listen to me. He is dangerous!” Juno pointed a finger at Beetlejuice. “Don’t listen to a word he says!”

 

“Buh-bye, Juney.” Beetlejuice grabbed my arm and snapped his fingers and suddenly we were back in my room. I looked at the clock and only two minutes had passed since we left.

 

“What the hell?” I turned to Beetlejuice but steam was literally coming out from his ears so I decided not to say anything more.

 

“Good for nothing bitch,” he spat. “Has to stick her nose into everything. Trying to ruin my plans _again.”_

 

“I’m still going to help.” I offered. Beetlejuice flicked his eyes down to me. “I made a deal with a demon. Right?” He smirked.

 

“Damn right you did, kid.” He chuckled. “Alright! Let’s get us some wheels!”


	7. Dreaming Wide Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy finds herself getting in deeper than she imagined with Beetlejuice. And a dream makes her question everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm imagining this set in a more modern time than the movie.

Aunt Trudy and I spent hours going around to different locations and looking at different cars. I was kind of glad Beetlejuice agreed to not tag along. I knew he’d be bored out of his mind and he’d try pulling some kind of stunt. We looked at vans, trucks, sedans and everything in between. By noon I could probably successfully sell a car to some random Joe on the street. Sales people really used the same tactics over and over again. It was kind of annoying.

 

Finally though, at the last used car dealership, I found one that was perfect. It was a nice sized sedan in a beautiful light blue colour. It was love at first sight. Aunt Trudy spent another hour haggling with the salesman to get the best deal and then I was suddenly being handed the keys.

 

“That...was easy.” I commented as we left the dealership.

 

“Well, we still need to figure out your insurance and thankfully my insurance company works weekends so we can head over there now.” We got back into her car and headed over to the insurance company which was more of me just sitting around and watching while Aunt Trudy talked over the finer details. I felt like I should have been taking notes to remember everything that was said.

 

After all was said and done, I was the proud owner of my own car. Excitement rushed through me at the prospect but then I was suddenly worried. This meant that I’d have to come up with a plan as to why I was suddenly going on a very long road trip. By myself. Or I’d have to sneak away while she was at work and leave a note saying...something. God this suddenly turned into a bigger worry than before.

 

“What’s with the long face, pumpkin?” Aunt Trudy asked as we drove back to the dealership.

 

“Just thinking about mom and dad,” I lied. “I always thought it would be mom taking me around to find a car. And dad would help with figuring out insurance.” Aunt Trudy gave a sad smile and nodded.

 

“Yeah,” she nodded. “It’s hard to imagine going through life without your parents. But you have me and I’m not leaving you.” She grabbed my hand and sniffled a bit. “I miss them too.” I squeezed her hand and looked out the window.

 

When we finally got back to the house, I could see Beetlejuice up in my room staring out the window. He gave me a thumbs up when I looked up at him and I had to suppress a smile.

 

“Babes! You did it!” Beetlejuice cheered as soon as I stepped into my room. He grabbed me and danced me around the room. “When can we leave? Right now?”

 

“Hold on!” I laughed. “I need to figure out what to tell Aunt Trudy. I can’t just...leave.” Beetlejuice deflated a bit at that but perked up again after a few seconds. Nothing seemed to ever get him down for very long. At least, he hid it well.

 

“So what now, babes? We can brainstorm an idea.” A rain cloud appeared above his head and there was a flash of lightening. “Long lost family member, maybe? Or met a friend online!”

 

“No...that wouldn’t be something I would do...” I sat down on my bed and looked at the floor, thinking. “No, it has to be something that would make sense. Something that just suddenly happened.” I thought back to our conversation in the car, how I had told Aunt Trudy I wished my parents were still here. Maybe...maybe it could have something to do with that. I felt the bed shift beside me and flicked my eyes over, watching as Beetlejuice settled down on the mattress, leaning back on his hands. He was thankfully quiet, letting me think through everything. He caught me staring and we sat there for a moment, regarding each other out of the corners of our eyes.

 

It was strange how the last few months had transpired. My parents and now him. A real demon. And I made a deal with him. Juno’s warning rang through my mind but I brushed it away. He hadn’t done anything to hurt me and as far as I knew, he wasn’t going to hurt these other people. I...somehow found myself trusting him. Which was probably a stupid idea.

 

“I could say I need away from the house,” I finally offered, breaking eye contact with him. “That there are too many memories right now of my parents and I just need a small vacation. I think she’d believe that.” She had offered to take me away for a few weeks before. I hadn’t wanted to go. I didn’t want to be gone and my parents to return to an empty house. What if they had been scared? Or worried? I had to be there for them. Even if they were never really there for me...

 

“You’re crying.” Beetlejuice commented, almost uncomfortably. I touched my cheek and pulled my hand away, surprised to see my fingers wet with tears. I blinked rapidly, feeling more tears well up, and rubbed at my eyes.

 

“Sorry.” I muttered, covering my eyes with my hand. I felt the bed shift again and suddenly the weight of his arm was over my shoulders. It was awkward and hung off of me like a dead (ha) weight. But it was appreciated. “I should uh, probably start mapping out how to actually get to Winter River. Don’t want to get lost along the way.” Without waiting for a reply, I got up and went over to the desk where my computer sat. I waited for it to boot up and started looking for directions to get to Winter River.

 

“Pumpkin?” Aunt Trudy knocked on my door. “I have to step out for a moment, will you be alright?”

 

“Yes!” I called back, my eyes glued on my computer screen. I heard Aunt Trudy walk away while I scribbled notes down on a spare piece of paper. It was only a day’s drive to Winter River which wasn’t so bad. We’d have to leave early in the morning and we’d arrive around ten at night. It was definitely daunting but I was up for the challenge. Now I just had to make my lie sound convincing. I was already pretty good at lying. You had to be when you saw things that weren’t there and the doctor’s wanted to do many, many tests on you.

 

I ended up getting ready for bed around eleven. Beetlejuice was sitting on the floor beside my bed as I crawled under the covers, his head leaning back on the mattress.

 

“So what happens when you do what you need to?” I asked quietly.

 

“What do you mean?” He tilted his head back a bit more so he could see me.

 

“Well, our deal will be done right?” I continued. “So what do you plan to do afterwards? You’ll be free to roam right?” Beetlejuice blinked, taken aback.

 

“I...hadn’t thought that far,” he chuckled. “Guess I should make some plans, eh? Find some places to see. The world will be my oyster.”

 

“Mm.”

 

“And I guess I’ll need a travel buddy or somethin’,” he said more quietly. “So I guess, I mean if I absolutely have to, I can take you to a few places.”

 

“Promise?” I whispered so quietly I didn’t think he heard me.

 

“Promise.” He replied just as quietly. I smiled and closed my eyes, sleep claiming me not too long after.

 

I wasn’t asleep for long though. Around four in the morning, my dreams decided it was time to work overtime. They were filled with the sound of metal crunching and my mother screaming. I was in the back seat of the car, my parents were arguing in the front which wasn’t anything new. We were headed back from the party. They actually took me. I was wearing a pretty green summer dress and black strappy heels. My dad took his eyes off the road for a second and suddenly mom was pointing at something and screaming. I looked up and saw a blur of black and white stripes, of glowing eyes, before we hit the tree.

 

“No!” I screamed and sat up in bed. Panting, I looked around me, my mind still stuck in those final moments of the dream. Arms were suddenly around me and a gruff voice was softly calling my name but my eyes danced around wildly. I wasn’t really registering anything around me.

 

“Cassidy,” Beetlejuice put a hand to my forehead, wiping my hair away from my face. “Come on kid, you’re fine. You’re awake now.” I finally looked at him and my breath caught in my throat.

 

“I-I-I-”

 

“Shh. Your aunt is coming.” He moved away from the bed and my door opened. Aunt Trudy was stranding there looking around for an intruder or some other kind of danger.

 

“Cass?” She came over to me and sat down. “Pumpkin? Are you okay?”

 

“Dream,” I gasped out, my breath finally slowing down. “Nightmare.”

 

“Oh sweetie,” she pulled me into her arms and started rocking me back and forth. “You’re okay. Wanna talk about it?” I gulped and squeezed my eyes shut, flashes of the dream coming back to me. A sudden idea popped in my mind and I began rolling with it.

 

“I was in the car...with mom and dad...” I began. “They were arguing. Dad looked away and then suddenly we were spinning out of control and then...then we...oh god.” I sobbed and buried my face into Aunt Trudy’s shoulder. “I saw them die.”

 

“Oh Cassidy-”

 

“I can’t,” I interrupted before she could say anything more. “I have to go. I can’t stay here. There’s too much of...them around. I need a few days away.”

 

“You want to go someplace? I can call my office on Monday and let them know I’m taking a few days and we can go anywhere you want.”

 

“No,” I pulled away from her. “I don’t want you to miss out on work because of me. I can drive somewhere. Just for a few days. I just need to clear my head.”

 

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea, honey.” Aunt Trudy rubbed my arms and I suddenly realized I was cold. “I don’t want you driving by yourself. What if something happened?”

 

“I’ll just be going to the next town over,” I lied. “I just...please Aunt Trudy. I need to do this by myself.” Something in my face must have convinced her. Promising we’d talk about it in the morning, she eventually left my room. Beetlejuice came back from wherever he was hiding and leaned against the wall.

 

“Huh. Way to tie it in, kid.” He praised. I threw the covers off of me and grabbed a suitcase from my closet. “Kid?”

 

“We’re leaving in the morning,” I whispered. “I just need to make a stop somewhere before we leave.” I grabbed the books that Melinda gave me and shoved them into my bag.

 

“Returning those?” Beetlejuice asked.

 

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I don’t think I’ll need them. Plus you said a bunch of it is fake.”

 

“Trust me, I know fake magic when I see it,” he grinned. “Whoever gave you that shit is full of it themselves.”

 

“She claimed she’s a Medium, like me. Knew right off the bat that I could see ghosts. Kind of acted like she was expecting me too.” I furrowed my eyebrows as I zipped up the suitcase. I had packed enough clothes for at least a week and I was hoping that was overkill. The way Beetlejuice made it sound, we weren’t going to be in Winter River for very long.

 

“What’s her name?”

 

“Melinda,” I replied. “She owns her own Wiccan shop on the other side of town.” I put the suitcase on the floor and flopped down onto the bed. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep again.” I was staring up at the ceiling, the dream replaying in my mind once again. It had felt so real, like a memory. But dreams could do that, right? Make you feel like it actually happened when in reality, it was your imagination. Beetlejuice’s face suddenly appeared floating above me.

 

“So what do you want to do?” He asked. I thought about it for a moment, closing my eyes so I could think.

 

“You have magic, right? Can you teach me?” I opened my eyes again and found him grinning.

 

“You wanna learn magic,” he chuckled. “Well, I can’t see a downside to letting you wield the forces of darkness.”

 

“Is all magic dark?” I asked. “I always thought there were two sides.”

 

“All of _my_ magic is dark,” he corrected. “You wanna learn that pansy white magic shit, go talk to Matilda.”

 

“Melinda.”

 

“Whatever,” he shrugged. “Yeah kid, I’ll teach ya a few things. Might come in handy.” He floated down so he was standing beside the bed and offered me his hand to help me up. Once I was standing, he walked to the middle of the room and surveyed the area. “Might want to wait until we’re on the road though. Don’t need ya burning the place down.”

 

“Burn? Are you going to teach me to use fire?” An image of me throwing a fireball at a target flashed through my mind and I could feel a grin pulling at my lips.

 

“I feel the excitement and I’m loving it but we gotta start with basics first.” He nodded, as if confirming what he just said, and conjured up an old looking book. He blew some dust off of it and towards me, making me sneeze. He opened to the first page and began skimming the entry. “Okay, lesson one...there are no rules when it comes to dark magic. Literally. Just do whatever you want and fuck the consequences.”

 

“Wow,” I crossed my arms. “I feel like that’s not true.”

 

“Oh, well _excuse me_ Miss Know-It-All. Did you want to take over as teacher?” He sneered over the book at me and I just rolled my eyes. “Now, lesson number two! Always do as I say. If you stray even just a little bit, you could end up causing Armageddon and, while that would be hilariously fun-”

 

“Yeah no.” I shook my head. It was at that moment that my phone decided to start ringing. Confused, I went to the bedside table and picked it up. Unknown number. Hesitantly, I answered. “Hello?”

 

“Hello! Oh I’m so glad I caught you before you left!” Melinda’s voice rang through the other end.

 

“How did you get this number?” I asked. Beetlejuice was instantly at my side and leaned closer so he could hear the conversation.

 

“Details! Anyways, I had a feeling you’d be coming by today so I made sure to be up bright and early. I’ve got the kettle on so you can pop on by any time!” I could hear her puttering around in what I assumed was her kitchen. “I live right above the shop so just come around the side of the building and up the stairs! See you soon!” She hung up before I could reply.

 

“Wow, she sounds like fun.” Beetlejuice snickered. “She knew you were coming by?”

 

“I think she’s more than what she says she is,” I replied. “She knew I was coming over the other day. She knew I could see ghosts...she knew my relationship with my parents.”

 

“That...doesn’t sit right with me,” Beetlejuice stared out my bedroom window. “I want to meet this chick.”

 

“Be my guest,” I shrugged. “We’ll be leaving town as soon as I’m done there.” I grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom for a shower and to calm my thoughts. Aunt Trudy wasn’t going to be happy that I was leaving right now but my mind was made up. We had to leave today.


	8. Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy and Beetlejuice set off on their road trip to Winter River.

I was right about Aunt Trudy not being happy that I was leaving _right then and there._ She nearly threw a fit, wanting to know what was going on and why this had come up all of a sudden. A dream couldn’t make me decide that quickly. I had to reassure her multiple times that I was going to be alright and I promised to call her as soon as I could. It was nearly nine by the time I was able to get out of the house. Beetlejuice followed behind me, his hands stuffed in his pockets, taking a deep breath as we headed to the car.

 

“Ah! Fresh air! You know I love it.” He said. I threw my suitcase into the trunk of my car and hopped into the driver seat. Beetlejuice was already in the passenger seat and was fiddling around with the seat and radio.

 

“Stop that,” I laughed.

 

“Hey, if I’m going to be stuck in a car for hours I need to be comfy.” He finally gave up once he figured out how to move the seat farther back so he wasn’t squished against the dash.

 

“Okay,” I started the car and backed out of the driveway. “First stop, Melinda’s.”

 

It was different, driving through the city streets instead of walking or taking the bus. I had driven before but very rarely. At least I was a decent driver, unlike some of the jerks who liked to pull out in front of me. Beetlejuice offered to pop their tires several times. When we did reach the shop, I noticed Melinda was standing in front of the window upstairs. Once she saw me, she disappeared.

 

“Cute.” Beetlejuice sneered at the storefront.

 

“Play nice,” I whispered back and headed for the side of the building. There was a set of metal stairs leading up to a green door that swung open as soon as I reached the landing.

 

“Cassidy!” Melinda greeted, ready to hug me, but stopped when she saw who was with me. “O-oh. You have a friend.” She was instantly on guard and ushered me inside at once. It was cozy inside. She had turned the upstairs part of the store into a flat filled with crystals and dream catchers. The walls were a warm red colour and shag carpets lined the floors.

 

“I came to return these,” I said as I pulled the books out of my bag. “I don’t think I’ll need them anymore.”

 

“Dear,” she took the books and put them of a near by table. “What happened? I thought you were trying to reach your parents? Do you know what this creature is?”

 

“Hey! I’m right here!” Beetlejuice snapped. “So you’re the wacko that’s been filling my girl’s head with fake magic.”

 

“Fake Magic?”

 

“Your girl?” Melinda and I spoke at the same time, both of us looking back at Beetlejuice with our eyebrows raised.

 

“Sure, the Handbook is real and most of the entries in that Demon book are legit but the spell casting shit? Fake.” Beetlejuice shrugged and began poking about the living area.

 

“It’s all worked for me,” Melinda retorted. “Cassidy, this is a demon. A poltergeist and a trickster. What on Earth caused you to call on him?”

 

“So you know him?” I asked.

 

“I know of him,” she replied quietly, so Beetlejuice wouldn’t hear. “Calls himself ‘The Ghost with the Most’ and has a reputation in the Neitherworld as being a prankster. He takes what he wants without a care for anyone else. Has he offered you anything? Tried to make a deal?”

 

“Um...”

 

“Don’t take anything he offers. In the end, it’s all about getting what he wants.” She eyed Beetlejuice. “Why _did_ you call him?”

 

“I tried summoning my parents but it didn’t work,” I admitted. “Then I saw the entry about him and I thought ‘Magic can’t actually be real. This can’t possibly work.’ And uh...ta da?”

 

“I told you to be careful!” Melinda grabbed my hand and squeezed. “You must be careful with magic.”

 

“Too late there lady,” Beetlejuice slung an arm around my shoulders, pulling me away from Melinda. “Kid and I have already made a deal. And boy was it a shit one too. She got the short end of the stick for sure. Now, we have a date we can’t miss so say your goodbyes. We’re leaving.”

 

“Cassidy! Don’t go with him! Wherever he is taking you it is not safe.”

 

“All right lady, enough with the doom and gloom,” Beetlejuice started steering me away from Melinda and towards the door. “You got your books back. But the road calls us!” He snapped his fingers and the door opened. “We’ll send a postcard.” After we were past the door, it slammed shut behind us.

 

“That was rude.” I looked up at Beetlejuice. “Beej, she was just trying to help.”

 

“She was just trying to help,” he mimicked.

 

“Stop.” I dug my heels into the ground and he paused in his step.

 

“Look, Cassy,” Beetlejuice looked down at me. “I can’t stand phonies like her. Yeah, she is a Medium but she doesn’t know magic. And she’s acting like she knows everything about me.”

 

“That’s two people who have warned me away from you,” I pointed out.

 

“I ain’t gonna hurt ya,” he sighed. “Now come on. She’s watching.” He started for the car again and this time I followed willingly. I was glad nobody was really on this street because I must have looked insane, arguing with myself. We got back into the car and I loaded up the directions to Winter River on my phone. Beetlejuice was quiet while we drove, which kind of surprised me. I figured he’d be talking my ear off the entire time.

 

Once we left the city limits, anxiety started over taking me. Melinda and Juno had warned me away from Beej and I knew he could do some pretty powerful things yet here I was. Driving to Winter River in order to help him get his revenge. What was wrong with me? I never did that sort of thing. Even when I was younger and had ample opportunity to get back at those who made fun of me. I just wasn’t the type. So what changed? Why did I want to help this ghost who I had only known for a few days? Sure I wanted answers but that didn’t mean I had to turn to a literal demon for them.

 

But then there was something that drew me to him. Beetlejuice was the first ghost I’d had an actual conversation with. All the others...I tried to ignore. I didn’t want to stand out and seem even more crazy. But with Beetlejuice...I didn’t feel crazy. Talking to him was nice. I felt like I could be myself and not worry. I asked him to teach me magic and he was alright with it! If I had brought up magic actually being real to anyone else, I would have been put under more tests.

 

“What’s on your mind, kid?” Beetlejuice asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

 

“Nothing. Why?” I looked over at him from the corner of my eye.

 

“You missed the turn off ten minutes ago.” He pointed behind us and my eyes widened.

 

“God damn it!” I yelled as he cackled. “You couldn’t say anything?”

 

“Didn’t want to interrupt whatever was going on in that head of yours.” He laughed. Groaning, I made a quick U-Turn and headed back. This was going to be a long trip.

 

\- - - -

 

About four hours into the drive I pulled over at a gas station.

 

“I’ll be right back,” I said as I got out of the car. “Behave.”

 

“I always do!” Beetlejuice replied as I shut the car door. Stretching, I headed inside and went straight for the bathroom. I splashed water on my face and neck, trying to refresh myself. I sent Aunt Trudy a quick text telling her I was alright and then headed back out to the store part of the gas station, picking up some snacks for the road.

 

When I got back to the car, I was relived to see Beetlejuice sitting there. It had been a fifty-fifty guess as to if he would have listened to me or not. I threw the bag of snacks into his lap as I climbed back into the car and he immediately dug into them.

 

“Save some for me.” I laughed as he ripped into a bag of chips. “Jesus, do you starve yourself or something?”

 

“I forget how good food is sometimes,” he replied around a mouthful. “When you’ve been around as long as I have, food doesn’t really matter so much.” He rolled down the window and conjured up a cigarette, lighting it by snapping his fingers and producing a flame.

 

“Show off,” I muttered.

 

“Hey! Didn’t I promise to show ya how to use magic?” He snapped his fingers again and the flame went out. “What do ya wanna learn first?” My mind went blank. What did I want to learn? Fire? How to conjure things out of thin air? There was so much to choose from!

 

“How about something simple?” I decided on. “Something that’s easy to learn. I don’t want to be stopped somewhere for hours since we’re still a long ways away from Winter River.”

 

“Hmm...something simple, something simple...” Beetlejuice tapped his finger on his chin, thinking. Then he snapped his fingers and that flame came back. “This is pretty simple. You start with a flame and try to sustain it on your hand. Then once you get that down, you can make fire out of nothing!”

 

“That doesn’t sound simple!” I laughed. “I’m going to burn myself!”

 

“No, no, no,” Beetlejuice shook his head. “Here, pull over at the next exit and find some place quiet. You’ll be doing this within minutes!” I raised an eyebrow but did as he said and found some place we wouldn’t be seen or disturbed. He then proceeded to pull a lighter out from his pocket and handed it to me. “Okay so first thing is first. Fire is dangerous, right? Touches you and poof! There you go. But if you learn how to control it, it won’t hurt you.”

 

“Okay...” I flicked the lighter on and looked at the flame.

 

“So now all you gotta do is concentrate. Imagine the flame is just energy that you’re moving from one thing to another. You’re a Medium so you naturally have magic flowing through you. We just gotta unlock it.” I did as he said and imagined the flame jumping from the lighter to my hand. I closed my eyes and visualized it happening, felt the warmth of the flame on my finger tips. I felt a ripple go through me, almost like what happened when I first called Beetlejuice’s name. I heard him breathe in and opened my eyes. The flame was no longer on the lighter. Instead, it danced on my finger tips, going from one to the other. I inhaled sharply and my eyes widened as I watched. It flickered slightly but remained strong.

 

“Whoa,” I breathed.

 

“See, what did I tell ya? Easy.” Beetlejuice grinned. “Once you master that, you’ll be able to control fire in no time.”

 

I spent an hour just moving the flame from the lighter to my hand, each time getting easier. I couldn’t conjure it up out of nothing like Beetlejuice could but this was good enough for me. Every time I managed to grab the flame, Beetlejuice would cause the car to fill with thunderous applause and cheering. It was absolutely thrilling.

 

Eventually reality came back to me though and I started back on the road for Winter River. Beetlejuice was his usual self, going on and on about things he had seen over the years. I got the feeling most of it was bullshit but knew he needed to show up so I kept up the awe at each story he told. Finally, after another couple of hours driving, I saw a sign saying “Welcome to Winter River!” It was dark out now, stars filling the sky and a full moon lighting the way.

 

“We’re here,” I stated and looked over at Beetlejuice. He had a twisted grin on his face and a dark gleam in his eye that I didn’t really like. “You ready?”

 

“It’s show time, babes.” He laughed darkly and I continued down the road until the village came into view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay I get to introduce everyone else now!


	9. Welcome to Winter River

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy tries to plan how she's going to get Beetlejuice to the Maitlands and ends up opening up about her past.

It was thankfully still early enough that the motel owner was awake and had a vacant room. I lugged my suitcase into the room and fell face first onto the bed. Groaning, I snuggled down into the comforter, ready to just fall asleep then and there. My companion, however, had other ideas.

 

“Cass,” he poked my face. “Cassy.” Poke. “Cassidy.” Poke.

 

“What?” I mumbled. “’M trying to sleep...”

 

“But we need to plan.”

 

“Plan tomorrow,” I compromised. “Sleep now. I’ve been up since four. Lemme sleep.” I yawned and curled up into a ball on top of the covers. I could feel Beetlejuice’s eyes on my and I cracked one eye open to stare back. “What?”

 

“You’re sleeping like that?” He motioned towards me. I glanced down at myself and grimaced. I was still fully clothed, with my shoes on, and I felt gross. I needed a shower and some food. But the bed was so comfy.

 

“Fuck it,” I sighed and closed my eyes again. “I’ll worry about it in the morning.” I heard Beetlejuice chuckle under his breath and snap his fingers. A weird sensation washed over me and I had just enough energy to open my eyes again and see what happened. I was now dressed in my normal sleep wear, my clothes folded up and sitting on top of my suitcase. “I’m never going to get used to that.”

 

“Goodnight,” was Beetlejuice’s reply. Sleep finally took over and I drifted off into a, thankfully, dreamless sleep. When I woke up, the sun was streaming through the curtains and I was lying under the covers of the bed. The smell of bacon caught my attention and I glanced at the bedside table. A plate of food was sitting there invitingly and I instantly sat up and grabbed it. I started shovelling food into my mouth, realizing I hadn’t eaten dinner the night before in my haste to get to Winter River. A low chuckle made me paused and look up. Beetlejuice was floating above me, hands behind his head, looking very relaxed.

 

“And you say I stuff my face,” he chuckled again.

 

“Shut up.” I slowed my eating and actually savoured the food. “Where’d you get this from?”

 

“Motel has a dining area. Snuck the food out while everyone was occupied. Since, ya know, you overslept.” He glanced down at me and winked. I looked at the bedside clock and saw that I had indeed overslept. It was nearly ten in the morning. Aunt Trudy was probably pulling her hair out worried over me since I hadn’t called yet.

 

I finished the rest of my food and then got to doing my morning things. Once I was showered, dressed and had my teeth brushed, I headed back out to the room. Beetlejuice was still floating above the bed but his eyes were closed now, like he was sleeping.

 

“So,” I began and he cracked an eye open. “Plans. How are we going to approach them?”

 

“Well, I had so much time to think last night,” Beetlejuice sighed dramatically and plopped down onto the bed. “I was thinking you could head over there first. Ya know, scope the area and see what’s the what.”

 

“Scared to go in yourself?” I giggled and sat beside him. “Won’t they be suspicious if some random girl just walked up and started talking to them?”

 

“Not these idiots,” Beetlejuice shook his head. “They’ll be delighted that you can see them. And Lyds...well, she might be but who knows with that kid. Just say you’re moving here and wanted to meet the new neighbours. Bring em a pie.”

 

“It’s the other way around. The people who live here are supposed to bring me the pie.”

 

“Whatever,” he shrugged.

 

So that’s how I found myself driving up to the house on the hill. It was kind of creepy, how it stood on the hill by itself, surrounded by fields. That didn’t stop me though. I was about to meet some more ghosts and that was kind of exciting.

 

After I got out of the car, I looked up at the house and swore I saw the upstairs curtain move. After looking at it for a moment, I figured it was just the wind causing it. Shrugging, I headed to the door and knocked. A moment passed and then an older looking man opened the door, a weary smile on his face.

 

“Hello,” he greeted. “Can I help you?”

 

“Are you Charles Deetz?” I asked. I didn’t even need to think twice before I asked. He was one of the top real estate guys and had featured in several of my mom’s magazines. Maybe this moving to town thing would work out better than expected.

 

“I am.” His smile became more quizzical.

 

“Hi! I’m Cassidy and I’m looking to buy a house here,” I gave him one of my best grins. “I thought, who best to go to then the guru himself? Am I right?”

 

“Well I’ll be darned!” He grinned. “Come in! Come in! What are you looking for? You must tell me everything.” He ushered me into the house and into a kitchen. “No, no. Let me guess. Something small, maybe two bedrooms? I know the perfect place. A nice couple used to live there...” I kind of zoned out as I looked around the house. It was really nice and welcoming.

 

“Charles! Who was at the door?” A tall red head came around the corner. She was wearing a smock covered in what I thought was clay. It covered her hands up to her elbows as well and there was even some on her face.

 

“Delia! This young lady is looking to buy a house here and she asked for expert advice!” Charles put a hand on my shoulder and beamed at Delia. “I was just going to grab some papers from my office.” He ran upstairs and left me with this Delia. She was regarding my carefully, like I might be a crook or something here to rob them. In broad daylight. While they were home.

 

“So you want to move here?” She asked.

 

“...Yup!” I smiled at her. “I’ve always loved small villages like this. It’s very, uh, relaxing. Um, is this your daughter?” I motioned to a picture of a young girl dressed in a school uniform. She had black hair and dark eyes and she seemed to be laughing at something off camera.

 

“That’s my pumpkin!” Charles came back downstairs, stacks of papers in his hand. “Lydia.” Ah. So that’s what she looked like. “She’s off with some friends right now but I’m sure you’ll see her around. She’s usually taking pictures in the cemetery.” I was led to the kitchen table where the papers were laid out. Pictures of houses, asking prices, contracts and more were fanned out.

 

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Delia said. “I’ve got art to work on!” She left the room with a swish and I was thrown into a three long hours of nothing but real estate. By the end of it, I knew about all the houses up for sale and my mind was swimming with prices.

 

It was around then that the front door opened and Lydia stepped into the house. She looked older than what she was in the picture, her features more sharper. She still had those dark eyes which landed on me the instant she stepped through the threshold.

 

“Hello,” I greeted with a small smile and a wave. Charles looked up from some papers and beamed at Lydia.

 

“Pumpkin! This is Cassidy. She’s looking for a house!” Charles introduced me. Lydia cocked her head to the side, regarding me as she removed a camera from around her neck.

 

“Hi,” she said. “Welcome to the neighbourhood.”

 

“Thanks.” I quickly looked away and back at the papers in front of me. I kind of wished Beetlejuice was there with me. He’d come up with some way to make this less boring. “But I should be going now. I’ve got so many options to decide on. I’m going to need a few days.” I forced a laugh and stood up.

 

“Are you here by yourself?” Lydia asked, leaning against the door frame.

 

“Yeah,” I lied smoothly. “My parents...well, they aren’t in the picture anymore and I don’t want to stay in our old house anymore.”

 

“I’m sorry,” she looked at the ground for a moment before meeting my eyes again.

 

“Anyways,” I perked up again and grabbed some papers. “I’ll review these and let you know which ones I want to view.”

 

“Perfect!” Charles led me out to the front door. “You have my card so just give me a shout when you know.” I promised I would and left. As I drove away, I got the feeling that I was being watched.

 

When I got back to the motel room, Beetlejuice was flipping through the TV channels. He stopped once I stepped through the door and jumped up.

 

“What the hell happened? You’ve been gone for hours!”

 

“What happened? _What happened?!_ I followed what you said and told them I was buying a house!” I groaned in frustration and flopped onto the bed. “Now her dad thinks I’m in the market for a house and I spent three hours up there going over prices! Did you know that the Martin’s house was built in 1865? It’s simply to die for!” Beetlejuice burst out laughing, bending over and clutching his stomach.

 

“That’s too rich,” he said between giggles. “What about Tweedles Dee and Dum? Or the girl? Were they there?”

 

“I think the Maitlands were there,” I sat up and crossed my legs. “I never saw them. But Lydia showed up just as I was leaving. She seemed...suspicious of me. Her and her mom. Delia. What do we do now, Beej? I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary up there. It’s a normal house with a normal family.”

 

“Bah. ‘Normal’,” he shook his head. “Now, we just have to get them to trust ya.”

 

“This seems like a pretty complex plan for it to just end in you popping up and yelling ‘boo!’” I sighed. “Can’t you just show up in the middle of dinner or something?”

 

“That ruins the fun though!” Beetlejuice whined. “I gotta make a grand entrance! Something they’d never see coming! That’s why you’re here.” I rolled my eyes and fell back onto the bed. “All you gotta do is get close to little Lydia. When she trusts you enough to show you her ghosty friends, that’s when I’ll pop in!”

 

“You know she’s older than me right? What makes you think she’ll want to hang around an eighteen year old?”

 

“I want to hang around an eighteen year old,” he pointed out.

 

“Yeah, well, you’re a creep so...” I shrugged and grinned at him. He opened his mouth to defend himself, thought about it, and then shrugged and nodded. I laughed. “Fine. I’ll see if I can find some common ground with her or something. Her dad said she’s usually in the cemetery so I could start there. But it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I doubt she’ll go back out again today.”

 

“That’s hours away!” Beetlejuice complained.

 

“Well then I guess we’ll have to amuse ourselves!” I sighed dramatically. “The mere thought of it fills me with horror!” I suddenly sat back up and turned to him. “Teach me more magic.”

 

“More? Aren’t you satisfied with playing with fire?”

 

“No!” I shook my head, my hair whipping around my face. “I want to learn more!”

 

“Yeesh,” Beetlejuice chuckled. “Alright kid. Don’t lose your head.” He brought his lighter back out and tossed it to me. “Let’s see if you can make a bigger flame appear.”

 

“Bigger flame?” I flicked the lighter on and brought the flame over to my hand where it danced in my palm.

 

“Yeah. Make the flame grow. Just do tiny increments though. Don’t need ya burning your eyebrows off,” he poked my forehead and I stuck my tongue out at him. I looked down at the flame and considered it for a moment. Make it bigger, huh? Alright let’s see...I closed my eyes and saw the flame as it was; small and barely there. Then, I imagined it growing very slightly, enough to be noticed but not enough to burn the place down. I felt a rush of magic through me and opened my eyes. The flame was bigger, bigger than what I had wanted, but bigger all the same. I grinned and looked up at Beetlejuice who was regarding me.

 

“What?” I asked, closing my hand and making the flame go away.

 

“I can’t figure you out,” he shook his head. “Mediums are so rare and ones who have such raw talent for magic are even more so. Who the hell are you?”

 

“I’m just...me.” I shrugged. “I don’t know why I can do these things anymore than you do. I didn’t even realize magic was actually real until you showed up. For the longest time I thought I was crazy. I could see things that others couldn’t. I could talk to the dead. And I’ve been able to do so since I was very young. My first memory is seeing my grandmother standing over my bed and smiling at me and she had died before I was born. When I told my mom, she brushed it off. Saying I had a dream.

 

Then, as I got older, it got worse. Ghosts would try to talk to me. It’s like they could sense I could see them. I didn’t have to even look at them. They wanted me to leave messages for their families or to find something of theirs that they wanted back. And I was just a six year old.

 

Mom and Dad...well, when they realized I was still talking to myself, they hired the best doctors they could find to figure out what was wrong with me. I went through so many tests; so many needles and scary machines. When I was fourteen, they kept me in a mental institution for a few days to evaluate me.” I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt a tear drop hit my hand. I had never told anyone what had while I was growing up. I always kept it locked up tight because the trauma of going through that was excruciating. And I couldn’t bring up what I was seeing and hearing to anyone because my parents would have had me committed. Now I could talk about it and it felt so freeing. And that thought made the tears come faster.

 

“Jesus, kid.” Beetlejuice looked uncomfortable for a moment before opening his arms. I flung myself at him and he held onto me, rubbing my back as the tears continued to flow. My voice shook as I went on.

 

“After that, I tried to hide it. I pretended that the meds they put me on worked and I no longer could see anything. Mom and dad were so happy. They had a normal kid again. Except I wasn’t normal. I could still see ghosts. And my trust in my parents had died. If that was the kind of torture they were willing to put me through, just so they wouldn’t have a weird kid? All the pain I went through while they stood there smiling and acting like everything was okay? I couldn’t believe in them anymore.”

 

“So why’d you want to find them after they died?” Beetlejuice asked. “They sound pretty shitty.”

 

“Because one thing I was never certain of was whether or not they actually cared about me,” I whispered in reply. “They showed no remorse for what I went through. Mom stopped being herself around me. Dad could hardly look at me most days. I needed to know if they actually loved me after all that. Or if they were sorry at all for what happened to me. Because once they were dead, I realized they would know I had been fine all along. That I had been right. That there were such things as ghosts. And I wanted to see their faces when they came home and realized I could see them. I wanted them to be sorry.” He stayed silent for a moment, his hand continuing to rub my back.

 

“You’ve never told anyone else, have you?”

 

“I-I couldn’t. Everyone at school found out I was sent to the institution and started spreading rumours about it. My friends left me, thinking I was some wacko. I had no one.” A few more tears fell before stopping. It felt so good to let all of that out.

 

“Well, you got me now, kid.” Beetlejuice squeezed me a little tighter. “I ain’t going no where.” I actually believed him. For some reason, I trusted this ghost more than I had trusted anyone in years and I had only known him for less than a week. Life is weird like that I guess.

 

I spent the rest of the day practicing magic. I made the lighter flame grow and shrink, moved it from hand to hand and tried just about anything I could think of. Beetlejuice kept a careful eye on me, making sure I didn’t lose control and catch the bed on fire. But I could sense he felt proud of the progress I had made. I almost felt like he wanted to throw a celebration for himself and his great teaching skills. The thought of that made me snort with amusement.

 

When night finally fell, I was exhausted. The day had been an emotional roller coaster and I just wanted to snuggle down into the bed and sleep for days. But I had a job to do. Tomorrow I would stay around the cemetery and hoped Lydia showed up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awe friendship level up!


	10. Unlikely Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy spends the day with Lydia and her family. What could go wrong?

Cemeteries. I hated cemeteries. Mostly because there was usually an abundance of ghosts haunting the area. Or trying to at least. Mostly they just bothered me if I passed by a cemetery. The one in Winter River, however, was empty. There were tons of gravestones but no ghosts. That struck me as super odd. What was it about this place in particular? Or did everyone that had died here move on? Like my parents? Or were they stuck in the waiting room?

 

I wandered around a bit, looking at all the gravestones. Some were from long ago, back in the 1800’s. It made me wonder when Winter River was first made a village. Maybe there was a museum I could visit.

 

I wasn’t at the cemetery for long when I heard the gate squeak open. I turned to see who it was and found Lydia, camera in hand. Luck was on my side. I turned back to the gravestone in front of me, carefully reading over what was engraved on it, when there was a sudden flash of light. Blinking, I looked back up and saw Lydia was right beside me with her camera up. She was holding a photo, waving it in the air to get the picture to focus.

 

“Sorry,” she smiled. “You looked so intense. It was a great shot.” She showed me the photo and I had to agree, it was really good. “What are you doing here? Most people stay away from the cemetery unless they’re visiting.”

 

“I kind of like them,” I lied. I was lying so much these days. “There’s something...peaceful about a cemetery. Plus, the history alone is amazing. I can’t believe how old some of these graves are.” I motioned to the one in front of me which was for an Annabelle Swanson; Born 1836 and died in 1867. “History is one of my favourite subjects.”

 

“Mine too,” Lydia smiled. “Well, photography is my number one.” She held up her camera as if to prove her point. “So, how are you liking Winter River so far?”

 

“I love it,” I replied. “It’s beautiful here and quiet. The people seem really nice.” I hadn’t really interacted with anyone but some of the people I passed on the way up here smiled and waved, even going as far as to say hello.

 

“Dad is really excited that he gets to sell a house,” Lydia laughed. “I think he misses work too much. We moved here so he could relax and now that he has, he’s going stir crazy. Adam has been trying to get him to do odd jobs around the house just to keep dad occupied.”

 

“Adam?” I tilted my head in interest.

 

“He’s...a friend of the family.” Lydia shrugged and snapped a picture of Annabelle’s gravestone. “How old are you?”

 

“Eighteen,” I replied. “I know, a little too young to be looking for a house. My aunt definitely thought so when I first brought it up.”

 

“No, I think it’s great,” Lydia nodded. “I thought about leaving home and getting my own place but I think my family would miss me too much. And without me, I know they’d drive each other up the wall.” She laughed again, I guess at the thought of what would happen if she left. I gave her a smile and turned back to the gravestone.

 

“I miss that,” I sighed wistfully. “Having a family.” Lydia went quiet. Blinking, I looked back up at her. “I’m sorry! That was really a downer, wasn’t it?”

 

“Can I ask how they died?”

 

“Car accident,” I answered. “It happened a few months ago. They were driving home from a party and lost control of the vehicle.”

 

“That’s awful. I’m so sorry.” She made a move like she was going to put her hand on my shoulder but thought better of it.

 

“My Aunt Trudy came to take care of me until I turned eighteen,” I continued. “But now the house just reminds me of my parents and I don’t...want to remember right now.”

 

“My mom died when I was little,” Lydia began. “So I know how it feels.” We shared a sad smile and I felt something shift between us. There was an understanding now and I didn’t feel like she was suspicious of me anymore. “Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? I know dad will want to hear if you’ve picked a house yet.”

 

“I don’t know how I could! All of the pictures he’s shown me are so lovely,” I laughed. “I didn’t think it’d be this hard. But I’ll take you up on that offer. A home cooked meal sounds wonderful.” I had actually taken a look at some of the houses up for sale and there were two that were actually calling me. Maybe after all was said and done, and I wasn’t chased out of the village, I could move here. I didn’t want to be in a city anymore. Someplace like Winter River was perfect for me.

 

Lydia and I talked the entire walk to her house. I had left my car at the motel, wanting to enjoy some fresh air while I was out there. I found out that Lydia and I had a lot more in common than I thought we would. We both loved watching horror movies, we loved to read, we were the outcasts of our school...the list went on. By the time we got to her house, we were joking and laughing like we had been friends for years.

 

I again got a feeling that I was being watched so I looked up to the top window. The sun was glaring in my eyes but I swore I saw two faces peering down at us. When I shielded my eyes to get a better look, the faces were gone.

 

“Hey, weird question,” I began. “But is there any chance your house is haunted?”

 

“What makes you ask that?” Lydia gave a nervous giggle.

 

“Because I keep feeling like someone is watching me,” I replied. “And I swore I just saw someone in your attic. Two someones actually.”

 

“It might have just been Delia and my dad,” Lydia said. “They’re trying to clean out the attic.”

 

“But it happened yesterday too,” I pointed out. “And both of your parents were downstairs.” Instead of answering, Lydia opened the front door and announced we were there. Delia came out to greet her but stopped when she saw me.

 

“Lydia, I didn’t realize you were bringing someone over!” Delia gave a strained smile.

 

“I found her wandering the cemetery and I thought she could join us for dinner,” Lydia explained. “I hope that’s alright?”

 

“Sure is pumpkin!” Charles came around the corner, a big smile on his face. “This is great! We can go over more options! Unless you’ve found one you want to view?”

 

“I have!” I pulled some papers out of my bag and handed them over. “These two in particular caught my eye.” Charles took the papers and looked them over, nodding.

 

“Yes! I knew you’d like these two!”

 

“Dad has a knack of finding the best homes for someone,” Lydia explained. “He can spend five minutes with you and know your dream home.”

 

“That’s why I came to him,” I grinned and turned to Charles. “My mom used to love reading magazines about dream homes and you featured in quite a few of them.”

 

“Glad to hear I still had some fans out there,” he laughed. “Now, I won’t bore you with anymore house talk. Lydia, why don’t you show her around?”

 

“Sure!” Lydia motioned for me to follow her and starting giving a grand tour of the house. It was a really beautiful home, very cozy and warm. When we got to the living room, I paused in awe at a tiny scale module of the town. It was an exact replica complete with people!

 

“Oh this is amazing!” I said as I took a closer look. “You have everything here! This must have taken forever to make!”

 

“It’s Adam’s,” Lydia explained. “He’s still got a few things to add but for the most part it’s complete. They keep changing some of the buildings on him though.”

 

“Adam...he’s the family friend right? Why isn’t this at his house?” I turned to Lydia but she was already walking away. I got the feeling she was trying to avoid the subject of Adam. I caught up with her as she headed upstairs.

 

“This is my room,” Lydia said as she opened the door. It was done in blacks and purples, pictures hanging off the walls.

 

“Nice.” I peered at the pictures on the wall. “All yours?”

 

“Yeah.” She joined me and pointed out a few of her favourites. I was admiring one of a giant spider when Lydia suddenly turned to me. “Can you see ghosts?” She blurted out. Blinking, I looked at her.

 

“Uh. What?”

 

“Can you see ghosts? I thought it was weird that’d you would bring up my house being haunted but then I thought about it and if you can see ghosts, that’s a totally normal question, right?” Lydia looked nervous, like I was going to laugh at her. I weighed my options and decided on the truth.

 

“Yeah,” I replied softly. “I can.”

 

“Deadly-vu,” Lydia grinned. “I can too.”

 

“Really?” I already knew this but I had to keep my act up. “That’s awesome! I thought I was the only one.”

 

“Nope,” Lydia shook her head. “How long have you been able to see them?”

 

“Since I was a kid,” I replied. “You?”

 

“Only just recently.” Lydia sighed as she looked at a picture of two people under some sheets. It seemed funny at first until I noticed there were no feet. “Actually, when we moved into this house. The people who used to live here died and now they have to haunt this house.”

 

“Is that who Adam is?” I asked. The Maitlands. Now we were getting somewhere.

 

“Yeah,” Lydia nodded. “Adam and Barbara Maitland. They’re really amazing and they’ve kind of adopted me as their god daughter.”

 

“Can I meet them?” I turned wide eyes onto Lydia, a small and hopeful smile coming onto my face. “I’ve never actually met a ghost before. I’ve always been avoiding them so I don’t look crazy.”

 

“Understandable,” Lydia nodded. “My dad and Delia didn’t believe me when I first told them about the Maitlands. That quickly changed.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“That’s...a long and crazy story,” Lydia giggled. “Maybe after dinner. But come on, I’ll introduce you!” She led me out of her room and up to the attic. It was really spacious up there with a couch, a TV some books laying around. Standing in the middle of the room, as if they sensed we were coming, were two normal looking people. I wouldn’t have guessed they were ghosts right off the bat; they wore plain, every day clothes and didn’t look like they were reliving their deaths in any gross way. They looked very normal.

 

“Barbara, Adam,” Lydia smiled. “This is Cassidy.” The Maitlands looked a bit concerned that Lydia was introducing us but I gave them a reassuring smile.

 

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I won’t tell anyone you’re up here.”

 

“Cassidy can see ghosts,” Lydia explained. “And she’s never met one officially before so I thought this would be alright.”

 

“Well,” Barbara began. She was very pretty, with long wavy hair and kind eyes. “Welcome to our home.”

 

“You can see ghosts?” Adam asked, excited. “Have you always been able to see them? What are they like? All the ghosts we’ve seen were in the Waiting Room and-oh, you probably don’t even know what that is.” He reminded me of my dad. Not so much in looks but in the way he got excited over things and would just start talking about it.

 

“I do, actually,” I giggled. “I met another Medium in the city where I’m from and she had this Handbook for the Recently Deceased and it explained a few things.”

 

“Medium?” Barbara inquired.

 

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Apparently that’s what Lydia and I are because we can see the dead.”

 

“The handbook never mentioned anything about Mediums,” Adam mused, crossing his arms and looking thoughtful.

 

“We’re rare,” I shrugged. “Oh! Speaking of. Do your parents know about the Maitlands?”

 

“Parent,” Lydia corrected. “My relationship with Delia is strained at best. But yeah, dad and Delia know.” Lydia looked over to the Maitlands, as if asking a silent question. “The way they found out...well, it’s such a crazy story I have trouble believing it sometimes.”

 

“Well, I think we have enough time before dinner,” I ventured. “I wouldn’t mind hearing this story.” I was actually pretty curious about how different their version would be to Beetlejuice’s. So, all of us sat down, Adam and Barbara pulling out some folding chairs, and Lydia began the story.

 

“Well, it all started when I first realized this house wasn’t normal,” she began. “I met Adam and Barbara a few months after we had moved in here, after I had broken into the attic.” She gave a small laugh, Adam and Barbara sharing a smile. “I was only sixteen at the time and going through a lot. The Maitlands wanted to scare us out of their house because we were turning everything upside down. When they couldn’t do it themselves, they sought out a poltergeist.”

 

“The worst one too,” Adam sighed. “We should have known better but we wanted our house back.”

 

“And we honestly didn’t think it would get so out of hand,” Barbara added.

 

“A poltergeist? Like...something from the movie?” I asked, playing dumb.

 

“Yeah, I guess that’s a good comparison,” Lydia nodded. “But this one was real and way worse. He turned into a giant snake and nearly killed my dad.” She shuddered at the memory. “Then my dad and Delia invited some big shot real estate agent from New York over to see some ghosts and they nearly exercised Adam and Barbara! I had to save them, I couldn’t let them be lost forever. So I asked the poltergeist for help and in return I...” She trailed off and furrowed her eyebrows.

 

“If it’s too hard to talk about we can change the subject,” I offered.

 

“No,” Lydia shook her head. “It’s fine. It’s just weird telling someone outside of the family, you know? Anyways, he told me he’d save them if I married him.”

 

“Married him?” I widened my eyes and looked at the Maitlands. They both nodded grimly.

 

“It was apparently a rule,” Barbara sighed. “A stupid rule at that. See, this poltergeist was stuck in our model of the town. Before that, he had been banished to spend a very long time in some hole.”

 

“When we released him, he caused so much havoc for Lydia and her parents,” Adam continued. “And then to force a child into something like that! It was horrid. We were thankfully able to stop him.”

 

“Mmhmm,” Barbara nodded. “Now he’s stuck in the Waiting Room where he’ll hopefully be for another couple of years.”

 

“That whole ordeal sounds horrible,” I shook my head in awe. “I had no idea that ghosts could actually...” I waved my hands to try and explain my thoughts. All three of them nodded.

 

“We’re still learning some of the tricks,” Adam said. “But those who have been around for decades can do dangerous things and this ghost in particular is one of the worst ones. A real demon.”

 

“Wow.” I looked down at my hands. Their story was basically the same as his but I could tell Beetlejuice was trying to bend a few things so he’d be seen as the victim. Not surprising.

 

We spent the rest of the time talking and getting to know one another. The Maitlands were pretty cool and I found myself warming up to them immensely. They reminded me of what my parents used to be like; Warm and loving. And it was clear they cared about Lydia deeply. I was kind of jealous that she was able to have that.

 

When dinner was ready, the Maitlands stayed in the attic. Lydia led me to the dining room where delicious smells were wafting from. It looked like they had gone all out; baked salmon, steamed vegetables and rice with herbs. It looked amazing.

 

Charles kept asking questions about my choices of homes like when I’d want to view them and how soon I was looking to move. Delia kept asking about anything new and exciting happening in the bigger cities; It was clear she missed it. Lydia watched all of this with an amused expression, sometimes asking her own questions or retelling a story.

 

By the end of the night, we were all laughing and having a good time. It was nice, hanging out with them. I didn’t feel like I was being judged for anything, like I actually belonged at their table.

 

When it was time for me to head back to the motel, Lydia offered to drive me since the sun had long since fallen. I took her up on the offer and thanked Charles and Delia for the meal. Lydia and I talked for the entire car ride and it felt like the ten minute ride took five seconds. When we pulled up to the motel, I saw the curtain of my room move slightly and knew Beetlejuice had been watching for me. Thankfully, Lydia hadn’t noticed.

 

“This was fun,” I said. “Thank you for the invite.”

 

“Of course!” Lydia grinned. “Maybe tomorrow I can show you more of the town.”

 

“I’d love that!” I returned her grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” I got out of the car and headed into the motel room, giving Lydia a final wave goodbye before closing the door. Sighing, I realized that I was in trouble. Sure, I was supposed to make Lydia trust me but, after today, I was seeing her as a friend. And I knew I couldn’t let anything bad happen to her or the Maitlands. They were all so sweet! Holding up my end of the deal was going to get a lot harder than I anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh


	11. Trust Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy starts to realize Beetlejuice isn't who she thinks he is. But then again, he never was.

The next few days were filled with fun. Lydia and I would go out and she’d show me all her favourite places to explore or we’d hang out with the Maitlands and then I’d go back to the motel where Beetlejuice would teach me more magic. It was so much fun to learn and I liked the one on one time with Beetlejuice. He was always coming up with different ways to make me laugh. When he wasn’t distracting me, I learned how to actually summon a flame from nothing which was actually quite draining on me. As soon as I did it the first time, I nearly blacked out from the strain. It was then we decided I should just stick to grabbing the flame from a nearby source.

 

I actually started to forget about why we were in Winter River; I was so caught up in the lie that I was moving there that I actually chose one of the houses to move into. Which was crazy because I couldn’t afford a house on my own. I didn’t even have a job! And there was Aunt Trudy to think about. What would she say? But I had to keep up the lie.

 

Beetlejuice was starting to get cabin fever too. I didn’t want him wandering around during the day because Lydia and the others might see him and I was worried what he’d get up to. On the fifth day of staying there, there was literal steam coming out of his ears.

 

“This is killing me! Again!” He complained. “How much longer do I have to wait for this? They trust you right? I can finally move onto the next step!” I worried my lip between my teeth as I thought over what he was saying. I didn’t want to go through with it anymore. I had no idea what he was actually going to do. I had to make sure nobody would get hurt because of this.

 

“Just...just a few more days,” I replied. “You can wait that long, can’t you? It has to be perfect timing, you know?”

 

“Babes, I can’t stay in here for much longer while you go out gallivanting every day.” He sighed dramatically and flopped onto the bed. I crossed my arms and stared down at him.

 

“So what do you suggest?” I asked.

 

“Just...lure them into the living room,” Beetlejuice said. “Start talking about something stupid that will lull them into a false sense of security. Make them unaware of their surroundings. Then, I’ll jump in and take over!”

 

“And what do you mean by ‘take over’?” I sat beside him on the bed. “You’re not going to hurt them are you?” Beetlejuice sat up on his forearms and raised an eyebrow at me.

 

“You’re not going soft on me, are ya?” He asked. “I told you what’s going to happen! I’ll just pop in, demand the deal be finished and that will be that! The Maitlands will get what’s coming to them too but I want my freedom damn it!”

 

“But you are free!” I pushed. “You can go anywhere you want right now. I wouldn’t take that away from you.”

 

“I know you wouldn’t, but someone else can,” he shook his head. “So long as I’m stuck under the rules, anyone who says my name three times can banish me. With this, I won’t have to live in fear of that! I won’t have to follow these stupid rules! Come on, kid! I need this.” He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. I don’t know what he saw in my eyes but it made him recoil. “You really _are_ going soft on me.”

 

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “But they’re good people. I just need to know that they won’t be hurt. Lydia is my friend! She understands me and the Maitlands are really sweet!”

 

“Understands you?” He shot up like a rocket and stared down at me, fire dancing in his eyes. “So you’ve told her everything that happened? Opened up like a book for her to read? Did she promise to help you find your parents?”

 

“No!” I stood up too and cursed the height difference between us. “And you didn’t really promise me either! You just told me you’d give me answers.”

 

“Yeah, that was the deal! That’s all you wanted! I gave you your answers, now you,” he poked my shoulder. “Have to hold up your end of the bargain.” He grabbed my by the throat and pulled me closer to him. “And you don’t want to know what will happen if you don’t. You’re stuck with me, kid.” The sound of my hand connecting with his face resonated throughout the room. His eyes widened at the contact and he lifted his hand to touch his cheek. He let me go and backed up a few steps. I bit my lip but didn’t break eye contact with him.

 

“Don’t you dare threaten me,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’m changing the deal. You don’t hurt them. If Lydia agrees to hold up her end of the bargain, then you finish it and leave her alone. You don’t harm the Maitlands or Lydia’s parents.”

 

“And if I do?” He sneered.

 

“I send you back.” Adrenaline rushed through me as I spoke those words. I just promised I’d never do that to him but the thought of Lydia and the others being harmed because of me was too much.

 

“You wouldn’t,” Beetlejuice laughed. “You can’t! You need me, kid! I’m the only friend you got! You think Lydia is going to want to see you after this is over with? Huh? I’m the only one who will ever understand you. You wanna change the deal? Go ahead! Doesn’t change the outcome.”

 

“You’re a monster!” I sobbed. Hot tears fell down my face at his biting words. Because deep down, I knew he was right. Once this was over with, the others would hate me. I was bringing back their worst nightmare.

 

“But I’m _your_ monster,” he said with an evil grin. “You’re the one who called me. You were warned what type of ghoul I am yet you didn’t listen. What. A. Shame.” He punctuated each word with a step towards me. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around me and crushed me to him, running his hand through my hair. I kept my arms lip at my side while I stared at the wall. “Just think, kid. When all this is done, it’ll be you and me! Touring the world! We can get back at all those who wronged you. I’m all you’ll ever need. We’re going to be best friends forever. Because that’s what you wanted, right? That’s what I promised.” Finding a sudden strength, I pushed him away and ran for the door. Once I was outside, I didn’t stop running. I could hear him calling after me but I ignored him. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I forgot about my car, I just needed to be anywhere but the motel.

 

When I finally stopped to catch my breath, I noticed I was heading in the direction of Lydia’s house. It was nine at night and the sun had set, causing a chill to creep over the land. Catching my breath, I started walking towards the house. Maybe I could crash there for the night. Beetlejuice didn’t seem to be following me, even though we both knew he could, so hopefully he had decided to give me space.

 

I heard a rumble from above and just as I looked up, the skies opened and rain fell. Groaning, I quickened my pace to a jog and hoped I would get to Lydia’s before catching my death. When the house finally came into view, I sighed in relief and headed up to the door.

 

“Hello?” I knocked on the door. “Lydia? Mr. Deetz? Mrs. and Mr. Maitland?” The porch light came to life and Barbara opened the door, looking quite shocked that I was there.

 

“Cassidy!” She cooed and ushered me inside. “You’re soaking wet! Where’s your car?”

 

“At the motel,” I sighed and stood in the porch, not wanting to move and get water everywhere. “I went for a walk but didn’t even think about the weather.” Now that I thought about it, I noticed the clouds rolling in earlier. “Where is everyone?”

 

“Charles and Delia went to New York for the weekend,” Barbara replied. She hurried out of the porch and came back a few moments later with a towel. “Here.” I took it with a huffed thanks and started drying myself off. Lydia came in soon after and handed me a change of clothes, laughing as she took my appearance in.

 

“Yes, let’s laugh at the poor, soaking wet girl,” I giggled.

 

“What happened? You have a car!” Lydia laughed harder.

 

“I went for a walk and then this happened!” I motioned to myself and then outside where it was pouring.

 

“Come on, I’ll make you some tea. You can use my room to change and we’ll throw your clothes in the dryer,” Lydia grinned and took my arm. I was still worried about getting water everywhere but they didn’t seem to mind. I headed upstairs and changed into the dry clothes. The shirt was long sleeved, black and hung off of one shoulder. The hem reached my knees. The pants were simple black leggings. I was thankful Lydia and I were close enough to the same size. I didn’t want to be wearing a towel all night.

 

When I got back downstairs, the kettle was just boiling. Lydia poured the steaming water into a cup took the sugar down from the cupboards. I leaned against the wall and stared out of the window, thinking.

 

Maybe I could explain to Lydia what happened and she would understand. She had to understand. The Maitlands had to understand too. I couldn’t have them hate me.

 

“Here.” Lydia handed me the mug of tea and I wrapped my cold hands around it willingly, sighing as the heat seeped into my skin.

 

“Thank you,” I said and followed her to the living room where we curled up on each end of the couch. Barbara drifted upstairs as quiet as a mouse and I hadn’t been facing the stairs, I wouldn’t have known she left.

 

“So what happened?” Lydia asked again. She peered at me over her own cup of tea.

 

“I had a fight with my friend,” I sighed. “He wants me to do something that I don’t really want anymore. It got pretty heated. Oh God. I even hit him!” I placed my mug on the ground and buried my face in my hands. I felt tears prick at my eyes again and I tried to fight them back.

 

“Hey, hey,” Lydia moved closer and wrapped an arm around me. “It’ll be okay. Whatever it is, there’s got to be a way to clear it up.” She rubbed my arm as I silently shook, my tears coming forth. “Has he been here the whole time? Or did he just get here?”

 

I thought about lying again but the very thought made me want to throw up. I couldn’t keep it up. I had to tell the truth.

 

“He’s been here the whole time,” I whispered. “Stuck in the motel while we went out.”

 

“What do you mean stuck?” Lydia asked, confusion in her voice.

 

“Lydia, I’m so sorry,” I raised my head and looked up at her, about to say more, but there was a sudden crack of thunder. It was so loud the house shook and I could feel it in my very soul. It was the kind that made me fear something was wrong.

 

“Whoa. That was-” Lightening flashed, cutting her off. Another loud rumbled of thunder shook the house. Lydia got up and ran to the window, looking outside. I joined her and nearly shrunk back from the sight; the black clouds had amassed over the house, rolling and angry looking. Rain pelted the ground and flashes of lightening happened every couple of seconds, quickly followed by thunder.

 

“This is insane!” I commented as we stared in wonder. There was suddenly a loud crack of thunder and a lightening bolt landed right outside the window. Screaming, we jumped back.

 

I looked over at Lydia and saw horror written all over her face “You!” Lydia shouted. “How?!” I was confused for a moment until I felt arms wrap around me.

 

“You can thank little miss here,” Beetlejuice’s voice slid over my like ice. He spun me around and dipped me, my eyes going wide, as his twisted grin grew. “Hiya babes!” Giving me a wink, he suddenly dropped me to the floor and stood back up. I yelped as I hit the ground and Beetlejuice stepped over me. Footsteps pounded down the stairs and I saw Adam and Barbara come racing in.

 

“W-what? What’s going on?” Lydia looked between Beetlejuice and myself. Barbara let out a cry as she saw who had appeared and Adam swore.

 

“Lydia! Look at you!” Beetlejuice crowed. “All grown up!”

 

“What are you doing here?!” Adam yelled. He was suddenly in front of Lydia, shielding her from Beetlejuice’s view, while Barbara helped me up.

 

“Well would ya look at that! Adam and Babs are here too! It’s a happy family reunion!” Beetlejuice laughed. “Kid, you sure did pick a good time!” He looked over his shoulder at me and grinned.

 

“No!” I cried out but the damage had been done. All eyes turned on me and Barbara let go of my arm.

 

“You brought him here?” She asked, shock on her face.

 

“No! I mean yes but I didn’t-”

 

“Do you have any idea who he is?” Adam demanded. “He’s a demon! How could you call on something like him? How could you bring him here?”

 

“Oh very easily!” Beetlejuice cackled. “While you were off playing house, the kid and I were plotting this entire time! Now!” He turned back to Lydia. “We have some unfinished business. You have to hold up your end of the deal, girly.”

 

“The deal was broken the moment you were sent to the Waiting Room!” Barbara snapped.

 

“Wrong! The deal still stands! I saved you two pansies and now I intend to collect on the debt!” Beetlejuice snarled and snapped his fingers. Adam and Barbara suddenly disappeared in a shower of sparks only to appear on the other side of the hallway mirror. They banged against the glass and tried to call to us but we couldn’t hear them.

 

“Adam! Barbara!” Lydia cried. “Cassidy how could you?” She turned back to me, tears streaming down her face.

 

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

 

“I won’t marry you!” Lydia screamed at Beetlejuice. “Beetlejuice!”

 

“AH!” Beetlejuice summoned a handkerchief to tie around Lydia’s mouth and stop her from talking. “Not so fast, kid!” He snapped his fingers again and the fireplace grew, a green light coming from it. A small alien like creature waddled out, a bible in hand. “This time, nothing is going to stop me from getting my freedom!” He grabbed Lydia’s arm and forced her to stand in front of the creature. “Now let’s skip the words and just go right to the ending!”

 

“By the power vested in me-”

 

“Beej!” I called. “Forget about me?” I held my hand out and felt magic surround me. Sparks started flying from my fingers and then suddenly there was a flame. My body wanted to stop right away but I forced myself to keep calling on the magic. The flame was small at first but started growing quickly. I started walking towards him until I was right behind him. “I told you nobody was to get hurt!” He slowly turned around, his eyebrow raised, as he took me in. He looked at the growing fireball in my hand and sucked in a breath.

 

“Well lookie here! Baby bird is finally learning to fly!” He cackled. “Careful, kid. Don’t wanna stain yourself too much!”

 

“Don’t do this,” I begged. “Please. Let’s just go.”

 

“I need my freedom, babes,” Beetlejuice looked down at my hand and suddenly the flame was gone. Gasping for breath, I shook my head.

 

“I told you what would happen.” I looked up at him.

 

“Do it,” he sneered. “I dare you.”

 

“Beetlejuice!” I called out. Fury crossed his features. Another bolt of lightening flashed and this time it hit the window, shattering the glass and sending the sharp shards flying towards us. I could feel pain in my arm and face as some of the shards hit me but I ignored it. Wind whipped my hair around my face, making it hard to see.

 

“Beetlejuice!” My voice rang out over the howling of the wind. Raising his hand, he waved it like he was backhanding me but I didn’t feel the biting pain of a hit. Instead, I felt myself flying through the air. I slammed into the wall, my head cracking against the mirror on the wall and I crumpled to the ground. As soon as I met the ground, everything went quiet and I couldn’t focus my eyes. Moaning in pain, I turned on my side and grabbed my head. I felt something wet and when I pulled my hand away, it was covered in blood.

 

“Kid?” Beetlejuice cocked his head at me. Barbara and Adam fell out of the mirror, the magic holding them in broken like the glass.

 

“Oh my god!” Barbara sobbed as she saw me. “Cassidy!” Suddenly the wind stopped and the rain let up. It was silent and everything seemed to move in slow motion. I looked up at the wall to see blood trickling down the broken glass. Cold hands were on my face and I looked back down, meeting Beetlejuice’s gaze.

 

“Kid?” I saw actual worry in his eyes. Weird.

 

“Beetlejuice.” I whispered. The worry was replaced with sadness and then he was gone. I sighed out in relief and then the world went black.

 

\- - - -

 

The first thing I noticed was the beeping. It was constant and annoying. Cracking an eye open, I was met with white walls. The smell of cleaning chemicals assaulted my nose. Groaning, I closed my eyes again and tried to blot out the beeping.

 

“Cassidy?” A familiar voice came from my left. I turned towards them and opened my eyes again. Lydia was sitting there, a few cuts on her face, and I saw happiness break over her features. “You’re alright!”

 

“Lydia?” I croaked out.

 

“Here, drink this,” she held a cup of water to my lips and I drank deeply. “Better?”

 

“Better,” I replied. “I’m surprised you’re here.” Lydia looked away and I felt sadness wash over me. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I went through with it. I should have known from the start to not listen to him but I...he promised me answers. I had to find my parents.”

 

“Cassidy,” Lydia turned back to me. “It’s okay. I understand. I’d give anything to see my mother again.” Breathing out a sigh of relief, I smiled at her.

 

“So what’s the damage?” I asked. “I remember seeing blood.”

 

“You cut your head pretty good,” Lydia explained. “They think you might have a minor concussion and you have a couple stitches in your head. There’s some cuts on your face and arms. Other than that you seem to be okay.”

 

“That explains the headache.” I winced. “Are Adam and Barbara okay?”

 

“Yup. And they aren’t mad either,” Lydia reassured me. “Cassidy...” The door to the room suddenly opened up and a doctor walked in.

 

“Oh good! You’re awake! Gave us quite the scare there!” He smiled warmly at me. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Ow.” Was my reply. He chuckled and nodded.

 

“Yes, I suppose you’d feel like that. That was quite some storm! Broke the windows and sent a branch flying into you!” I glanced at Lydia who gave a covert shrug. “You must be tired though. I think we’ll end visiting right now and let her get some more rest.” The doctor looked at Lydia who nodded and stood up.

 

“I’ll be back later,” she promised before heading out of the door. The doctor soon followed. I settled back down into the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Too many emotions were playing through me at that moment. I couldn’t believe everything that happened in the last couple of days. And it had only been days. That’s what was really getting to me. Everything had moved so quickly and in that time, I made new friends and I...I trusted a demon. I let him convince me everything would be fine. I should have felt hatred towards him, especially after what he did, but I just felt sad.

 

I lay in the hospital bed, wide awake, for hours. The sun had set a long time ago and everything was deathly quiet. I felt a breeze flow through the room and sighed as it chilled my warmed skin. Then I realized that the window wasn’t opened and I instantly sat up, wincing at the pain that shot through me. My eyes scanned the area but I couldn’t see anything. The temperature of the room kept dropping noticeably however.

 

_Say my name..._

 

A whisper sounded throughout my head, making me feel dizzy.  It was  unmistakably his voice.  Again, I looked around the room but I couldn’t see him. There was enough light from the moon coming in to see everything clearly. 

 

_Say it._

 

“Beetlejuice,” I whispered. “Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might redo this chapter. Something feels off about it but I can't pinpoint what exactly. Feedback is appreciated!


	12. The Ending and The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy faces Beetlejuice again and makes the decision of a life time

“Jesus kid, you gave me a real scare there.” Beetlejuice sat beside me on the hospital bed.

 

“Your own fault,” I huffed, refusing to look at him. “I shouldn’t have even called you back. You should stay stuck down there for the rest of eternity so I can go on living my fucking life and not worry about ruining someone else’s.”

 

“She forgave you, didn’t she? Just like I said she would!” Beetlejuice crossed his arms. “Kid, listen. I want to say suh-mmm. I want to say sor..rrr...nope. I want to make up for what I did!” Despite myself, I giggled at his attempts.

 

“You want to apologize?” I offered.

 

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I almost killed ya! And I promised myself I’d never hurt you.”

 

“When did you promise that?” I asked.

 

“When you told me about what happened when you were younger,” Beetlejuice replied. “I’m not used to feeling bad about what I’ve done. And I don’t feel bad for trying to get my freedom. But I do feel bad about this.” He waved his hand towards me. He refused to meet my eyes as he spoke but I could tell he meant every word.

 

“Is there no other way to break it?” I asked quietly. “You can still go wherever you want like this. We just can’t tell people your name. The others don’t need to know that you’re here. You could leave now! Go anywhere you want.” The monitor connected to me started beating faster as I got excited. I still wanted to help him. I had to help him. He was still my friend, even if he wasn’t very good for my health.

 

“Thing is,” Beetlejuice sighed. “I can’t just leave.”

 

“Why not?” I frowned.

 

“You see, there’s this really annoying kid that I got stuck with,” he explained. I could see he was trying to hide a smile. “And I mean really annoying. So annoying that I started to like having her around. Even if she is just a kid.”

 

“You are such a creep.” I laughed. Beetlejuice just shrugged.

 

“You know me too well.” He joked and I laughed again. “And I guess this is as good of a freedom as I’m going to get. We can go anywhere, see anything. Marriage is over rated anyways.”

 

“I kind of want to stay here,” I said quietly. “For now. I really did love the house Mr. Deetz showed me and Lydia is really awesome and so are the Maitlands. I mean, we can totally travel once I get a job and save up some money but I think right now...I want something quiet.”

 

“Kid, you don’t need money,” Beetlejuice gave me an ‘are you kidding’ look and poofed a few hundred dollar bills into his hand, fanning them. “I’m the Ghost With The Most, babes. You keep forgetting that.”

 

“Whoa.” My eyes went wide as I stared at the money. “It’s real?”

 

“Of course it’s real!” Beetlejuice scoffed. “What do ya take me for?”

 

“A con artist, a liar, a trickster, a-” I would have continued but there was suddenly a pillow in my face. Where it came from I had no idea but I was quick to grab it and throw it back at him. He ducked his head and laughed as I missed him so I just stuck my tongue out at him.

 

I could finally feel my eyes getting heavy and the need for sleep took over. Beetlejuice ruffled my hair and stood up. Looking around, he conjured up a chair and settled into it.

 

“Get some sleep,” he ordered. “Can’t have you being weak all the time on me.”

 

“Shut up.” I flipped him off but closed my eyes anyways. In a few minutes, I was fast asleep.

 

\- - - -

 

Five Months Later

 

“There!” I sighed happily as I hung up the final picture frame. It was a photo of Lydia and myself on a hike. We had stopped for lunch at a small cliff side and thought it was a great place for a selfie. I turned to survey the living room and felt a smile grow on my face. It had taken a while to convince Aunt Trudy that I was okay to move out, almost two months of arguing, but she eventually gave in and even moved to Winter River herself, after meeting a rather handsome looking man at the store. I was happy for her. She deserved someone who would treat her right.

 

“Hey Beej?” I called as I flopped down onto the couch. I had decorated to my hearts content, getting mix matched furniture that somehow still looked good together, there was a fluffy carpet under the coffee table in the middle of the room, a good sized TV sat on a stand at one side and a cozy fireplace was on the other. My ghostly roommate floated in from the kitchen, a container of leftover pasta in his hands.

 

“What?” He asked around a mouthful of food.

 

“What do you think?” I motioned to the room. “Anything look crooked?” He looked around and shrugged.

 

“Looks fine to me.” He came over and sat down beside me, shoving more food into his mouth. I just rolled my eyes.

 

When I decided to permanently move to Winter River, I promised both Beetlejuice and myself that I’d keep him a secret from the others and he agreed. Even if Lydia and the Maitlands had forgiven me, they were no where near ready to know I was keeping Beetlejuice in my life. And Jesus what a life it became. Every day was filled with something new and it was exhausting but oh so worth it.

 

Despite Juno’s disapproval, Beetlejuice kept bringing me back to the Neitherworld to show me around. Eventually, everybody stopped staring at the living girl and just accepted that I was around.

 

I stopped by Melinda’s store once more to tell her I was leaving town for good and I was wrapped in a fierce hug. Just before I left though, she passed me an envelope and told me to open it when I was alone. I still hadn’t had a chance to open it since Beetlejuice rarely left me alone. Every waking moment was filled with him whining and complaining until I paid attention to him. He was much like a kid.

 

“So, Lydia wants to come over tomorrow,” I started. “So you need to not be here for the day.”

 

“Sure.” Beetlejuice nodded. He poofed the empty container back to the kitchen and slung an arm around my shoulders. “Ya know what, kid? This is gonna work.”

 

“Yeah?” I raised an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah.” He looked around for a moment before his eyes settled on me. It was weird, having a poltergeist as a friend. Beetlejuice needed freedom, he needed to be able to cause chaos and yet he seemed content to just...stick around me. Then again, I didn’t really know what he got up to when I was asleep or busy with something else so for all I knew, he was in the process of starting World War Three.

 

I sighed and lay my head on his shoulder, looking around my new house. I was starting a new job on Monday which I was excited for, I had new friends who actually cared about me, I had my Aunt Trudy and most importantly, I had my best friend beside me. Life was turning out pretty good.

 

The days seemed to pass by with a dream like feel. Everything was perfect. The house was perfect, my job was perfect...I was actually waiting for the shoe to drop. After the events that had transpired, it seemed odd that everything was fine. Even Beetlejuice seemed to be on edge but he didn’t admit to it.

 

After a few more days had passed, Beetlejuice came to me after I got home from work and looked worried. I was put on alert immediately as I set my things on the counter.

 

“Juno wants to have a meeting,” he explained. “Right now.” As soon as he said that, there was a flash of light and the small woman appeared before us, her signature cigarette in hand. She inhaled sharply, her cold eyes staring at us intensely. 

 

“Hey Juno...” I greeted cautiously. I had no idea why the lady wanted to talk to us but I could tell it wasn’t going to be good.

 

“Do you realize,” she began. “How much paperwork I’ve been forced to do because of you two?” She pointed at the two of us, a frown gracing her lips. “I’m surprised it hasn’t taken me longer to get through it all! And now the higher ups want to know why he’s still roaming around!”

 

“He’s here because he wants to be,” I shrugged. 

 

“No! He’s supposed to be banished for another hundred years! Not out gallivanting with a teenager!” Juno huffed.

 

“Excuse you,” Beetlejuice sniffed. “But I believe that was only until I was called upon and, oh look at that, I’ve been called upon!” 

 

“Why haven’t you sent him back yet?” Juno demanded. “He’s nothing but a trickster and a lunatic! Have you no brain? Were the events at the Deetz’s house not enough for you?”

 

“I-”

 

“He needs a leash! Or something to contain his power!” Juno interrupted. “And I just so happen to have come up with something that will make everyone happy.” 

 

“Like what?” Beetlejuice and I spoke at the same time.

 

“If you’re so hell bent on keeping this monster around, we’re going to make sure he doesn’t try and destroy everything.” Juno inhaled some of her cigarette before blowing it out towards me. I coughed and waved my hand around my face to try and get rid of it. “From here on out, only you can call on him.”

 

“Wait a minute!” Beetlejuice cried out.

 

“If you agree to these terms, only you will have the power to banish him,” Juno continued. “And only you will be able to let him gain full control of his powers. From here on out, he has only half the power he had when you met.”

 

“JUNO!” Beetlejuice screamed but she held up a hand and silenced him. He tried yelling but his voice was completely gone.

 

“Child, I will not see our worlds collide in a horrible way because of him,” Juno was only looking at me now. “Before, the rules stated he had to marry someone to gain his freedom and all his powers. We’ve changed that now. All you have to do is say the spell that will break his bonds and he will be free.”

 

“Spell?” I cocked my head to one side. “What is the spell?”

 

“Well, that’s entirely up to you,” Juno shrugged. “It has to be good, it has to be powerful and, as a novice spell caster, it’ll take you years to come up with something so everyone wins.” Beetlejuice’s anger hit overtime at that. His eyes flashed red and he started stalking towards Juno, his hands turning into claws. “If you come any closer to me Beetlejuice I will send you to Saturn so quickly you won’t have time to blink.” Beetlejuice halted in his advance but fury was still written all over his face.

 

“So basically you’re making me his jailer.” I crossed my arms and stared between the two of them.

 

“ _You_ set him loose,” Juno replied. “ _You_ won’t send him back. _You_ are going to be responsible for everything that happens from here on out. And, since you keep gracing us with your presence in the Neitherworld, I’m allowing you full visitation rights there. You can come and go as you please but you are not allowed to mess with anything.” She waved her hand again and Beetlejuice suddenly had his voice back.

 

“YOU KNOW MY FREEDOM MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME!” He screamed. “WHY WOULD YOU CHANGE THE RULES NOW?!”

 

“Simple,” Juno replied. “Because we can.” And with that, she made a contract appear in her hand. “Cassidy, you must sign your name on this contract. It’ll make you the keeper of Beetlejuice. His name will no longer hold the meaning of three to others. Only you will be able to call upon him and banish him. Do you agree to these terms?”

 

“What happens if I don’t agree?” I asked.

 

“He’s sent back to banishment without a way out.” Juno nodded her head towards the papers, telling me to take them. Hesitantly, I reached out and accepted them. There were only five pages and they detailed very clearly the rules of the contact. A pen suddenly appeared in the air before me and I grabbed it.

 

“This is the only way?” I asked. Juno nodded. I looked at Beetlejuice who was still fuming but watching me with careful eyes. Ever so slightly, he nodded his head so I flipped to the last page and signed the contract. Then Beetlejuice stalked over, grabbed the pen, and scribbled his name down too. The effects were immediate. There was a zing of electricity through me and I gasped at the sensation. I turned to look at Beetlejuice and he was holding his head, his face screwed up in pain.

 

“Don’t worry about him,” Juno told me. “Losing your power is a painful process.”

 

“Even if it’s just half?”

 

“Even if it’s just half.” Juno took an inhale of her cigarette and blew it out. “Now that that is done, I can get on with the rest of my paperwork. Behave!” She directed that last word at Beetlejuice and then was gone.

 

“Bitch.” Beetlejuice snarled and threw himself down on the couch.

 

“Well that was...interesting.” I sat beside him and stared at the floor. “I don’t fully understand what just happened but...” I shrugged.

 

“Dumb bitch forced our hands,” Beetlejuice sighed. “Gah! I hate her. Ruins everything.”

 

“Sorry,” I winced. “Could have chosen someone better to be stuck with, eh?”

 

“Shut up,” Beetlejuice wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer. “Stop bringing yourself down like that. It’s not you that’s the problem. It’s the fact that this happened at all. They shouldn’t be putting this much pressure on you.”

 

“All I have to do is come up with a spell, right?” I asked. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

 

“On the contrary, my dear,” Beetlejuice snorted. “Homemade spells are the worst. Especially by a novice witch. Juno was right. It has to be powerful and you only get that with years of practice.” I scrunched my nose and sat back. Beetlejuice’s arm tightened around me and I put my head on his shoulder. We stayed like that for a bit, sitting in silence and processing what had just happened.

 

“I think we should tell Lydia,” I said after a while. “Maybe she can help.”

 

“She’ll freak,” Beetlejuice pointed out. “You’ve kept me a secret for almost six months. She thinks I’m gone and so do the Maitlands.”

 

“She’ll understand,” I reasoned. “I think...”

 

“Whatever you want, kid. Just don’t be surprised if she storms out of here.”

 

So with that, I invited Lydia over and let her in on the secret. Beetlejuice was right, she started freaking out but then she calmed down when I explained what had transpired with Juno. Lydia sat down and listened to everything, all the while eyeing up Beetlejuice like he was going to do something drastic. I didn’t blame her.

 

By the end of it, Lydia hadn’t exactly warmed up to him but was willing to not raise hell anymore. After he apologized for what he did to her and the Maitlands. When all was said and done, and Beetlejuice had apologized to both Lydia and the Maitlands with extreme difficulty and a lot of coaching from me, I was finally able to relax. I made a promise of no more secrets from now on. Lydia had to know what was going on and, while she may not like it, she was there for me. It was nice, having a friend like her around.

 

I finally started to think life was going to be okay. I had a lot to learn when it came to magic and Beetlejuice was a...somewhat patient teacher but I knew I needed an actual witch. Finding one was easier said than done though. But that was another problem for another day. For now, I just wanted to relax and enjoy the peace. I had my friends, I had my family and I felt ready for anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm ending it here BUT I'm thinking sequel. Sequel? Yeah....I think I'll do that


End file.
